What Time Left Forgotten
by Ghost-Rewire
Summary: It was such a good plan. Three weeks of planning and it was fool proof, but if it was why was everything going so wrong? It had to be her... it had to be. My first story ever! sorry if I'm not too good at the layout yet. But read on my fellow romantics, then review
1. Homecoming to hell

Hey readers, it's good to be writing as this is my first story. this is just some of the stuff i have to get out of the way before you read this fic, so let's kick it off shall we? I'd like to start off by saying that this started out as an action/adventure fic. but as soon as i started typing it i instantly changed it into a action/adventure/romance fic. if you don't like romance in your stories, sorry guys. write me back and tell me it sucks. Who's the lucky couple you asked? why it wouldn't be a story if naruto wasn't in it, and nobody fit the other role like everyones favorite hyuuga girl! CHA!!! ok that was a little weard, oh god i hope i'm not going insain. Next off is the fact that the peaple in this story have more or less the same charicteristics as in the show, unless something happend to them, as you'll see in naruto's case. (AKA: Jiraiya still a perv. Tsunade still loves sake, lee and gai still cant stop going on about the flames of youth.) However there are some exeptions, for example the kyuubi and Naruto change drasticly, the kyuubi because i thought it would make a cool charicter, and naruto because he goes through a tramatizing time. but don't worry, it will get better if i continue the fic. I think that about wraps it up, oh ya discalmer. it's the law, got to do it.

Disclamer: I don't own Naruto, Mister Masashi Kishimoto owns it, not me. if i owned naruto i wouldn't be writing fanfictions. so don't anybody sue me.

Peace...

ghost.

It was quite a night indeed. As a low fog laid upon the road all that anyone would see for miles was two figures that you could tell you just didn't want to mess with. "It's hard to believe it's been two and a half years" naruto said and he and his sensei, Jiraiya, just continued walking. "Konoha at last." He still wore that same stupid grin on his face but those who really knew him could see that he might be just one step closer to breaking. A wise man once said that dreams and reality are two very different things; this quote was some thing naruto took to heart. Yes he still wanted to be hokage, but he had all but given up on his dream for someone to love him and have most importantly, a family.

"Here I am Konoha, but I'm not the same kid that left" "jezz cool off naruto, aren't you even looking forward to seeing you friends?" Jiraiya said. "Yeah but I doubt that many of them even remember me." _Much less care, _it was then that he started to think about the list of those who might still be his precious people, and then realized that there weren't many. Tsunade, Sakura, Iruka, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and maybe shino, shikamaru, choji, and hinata and that was it. _Oh well _he thought _welcome home me_.

Hinata woke up like any other morning, blushing at the dream that just so happed to find its way into her head. All in all she did her usual routine. Wake up turn off the alarm set out clothes, go take a shower, get out, get dressed, mark off another day on her calendar strap on her ninja equipment, wait…. double take. She sprinted back to her calendar praying it was true, sure enough luck was on her side, _July 19 _she thought _my birthday, and by chance the day that naruto comes back. _Hinata rushed to get the rest of her stuff on and then snuck out of the house, things had gotten better since naruto had beaten Neji, but she really didn't feel like dealing with her father today.

She then ran down the street and headed straight for the gate praying that her love would return today. Through the two and a half years her love for the blond had only grown but unfortunately her confidence hadn't. She still stuttered when she spoke, the blushes had actually gotten a little better but she wasn't around Naruto then, she still fiddled with her fingers, but one thing she had was determination, and she was determined to show her Naruto that she could be strong enough for him.

As she rounded the corner she bumped into some one and both she and the blur of pink went down hard. "a-arogoto sakura-chan, I d-didn't see y-you." "Its okay hinata, but where's the fire?" "I'm g-going to wait by t-the g-gate" Hinata stated while fighting the ever rising blush "why" asked sakura. "T-today's the day n-n-naruto c-comes home." "Oh man I wish I could come with, but Tsunade-sensei has me running like a dog, oh well, tell him I said hi and good luck." Sakura winked at the last part and then ran of to the hokages tower. _She doesn't know does she? _Hinata thought, worried that someone might know her secret. She decided against it and went back on her way to the gate.

Tsunade's day had also started out fairly normal, wake up in her office from drinking too much sake, stare at the mountain of paperwork that was sitting on her desk, sigh and down another glass of sake, then get back to the paperwork. _Comes with the job I guess _Tsunade thought as for the first time in a long time something out of the ordinary happened."Hokage-sama" Shinzune said as she busted down the door. "You might want to here this" at that moment Sakura walked in "well, it must be awfully important considering you busted through my door to tell me, what, did you finally get a date with Iruka?" Tsunade questioned, a hint of malice in her voice. She really wasn't up to this today. Surprisingly though Shinzune had turned to Sakura with a look that even scared the Hokage…… a little. "and I swear Sakura if you tell anyone that I have a crush on Iruka-kun I will personally test how much you've learned from Tsunade sama" with that Sakura's face viably paled while Shinzune cracked her knuckles. Oh yes, for Sakura and Ino had gotten themselves quite a reputation as being the towns gossip distributors, courtesy of one very lazy Nara who awoke one day to find the whole town thinking he was going out with the chick from suna. All for saying that she would always be the most troublesome female. However Shinzune then remembered that she hade to deliver the news and turned back to a viably angry hokage. "He's back" was all Shinzune had said and the door was forgotten.

"Sakura I have a job for you." "Yes hokage-sama" "I want you to get anyone close to naruto and tell them to meet at ichkaru's at 12:00 sharp." "Hai!" sakura then ran out the door knowing exactly where to find one probably blushing hinata.

"Hey S-Sakura, I t-thought y-y-you couldn't c-come." Hinata said as the pink haired girl approached. "I can't stay but I need your help, we have to get everyone naruto knows to ichkaru's ramen stand by twelve. Do you think you can find your team?" "H-Hai, but Kurenai sensei isn't b-back from her m-mission yet." "Alright well then just find Shino and then I'll see you at twelve" hinata then turn and took one last look at the road and there on the skyline were two barley visible figures. "_Welcome home Naruto"._ Hinata thought out loud.

Naruto was visibly shaking as they approached the gates, and Jiraiya being the sannen that he is noticed. "What's got you so nervous; I haven't seen you like that since we were fighting itachi?" Jiraiya said with a puzzled look on his face "If you remember" naruto said "I made a promise the last time I walked through these gates." "Oh, to tell your Friends about the Kyuubi huh?" "Yeah, that one, it seemed so much simpler then. Alright, sorry ero-sennen but I really don't fell like I can face everyone just yet. I'm going to tell baa-chan I'll catch up and I'll meet with you later." That said, he disappeared, no smoke, no swirl of leaves, no creepy mist, he just up and disappeared.

She was just about to jump out and engulf the blond in a hug when, to her surprise, he vanished. Then of course she freaked when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Well baa-chan you weren't hard to find, listen I'll catch up later but right now I have some stuff I got to deal with. Anyway I'll see you around baa-chan, Ero-sennen." Naruto said, shooting his trademark grin. "Damn it Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that" both sannen yelled. Naruto laughed and quickly replied "Trust me, you guys won't live long enough to get them all said." And then just as quick as the last time, he was gone.

NOW Tsunade was angry and just as she was about to pound Jiraiya into the ground for not teaching the boy some manners. She realized a couple of things.

1. Naruto had just been gone for three years, and that was all he had to say upon his return.

2. That was the first time in forever that she had seen him use that mask around just her and Jiraiya.

3. She didn't have a headache; normally the endless string of questions about what happened while the youth was gone would inevitably end in a headache, which in turn meant that there was no string of question. All of this added up to one thing, there was something seriously wrong with the boy, and he was trying to hide it. Then as she was about to pound Jiraiya until he told her what was wrong she realized a couple of other things.

1. Naruto had just snuck up on a kage and a sannen.

2. Afterwards he disappeared without a trace, had she not seen him there would be no evidence to ever suggest he was there.

Now this flat out confused Tsunade, yes, Jiraiya was good but there was no way that Naruto should be this powerful. The Blond hokage then turned around to see something that she hadn't seen, in as far as she knew ever. The great Jiraiya, super pervert of the century had a serious look on his face and wasn't scribbling in his notebook. "Judging by your face I can safely say that you've already figured some of what I have to tell you out, but before I continue you have to swear to me that you will never let Naruto know I told you any of this, ok?" Tsunade now very interested and only a little scared just nodded her head in response. "Good, come on we can talk in your office."

Sakura meanwhile was looking for her partner in crime, Ino. Of course she had to tell the whole team to go to Ichkaru's, but that wasn't the point. In one day she had learned that Hinata was in love with Naruto, oh she was going to have fun with this one. She also learned that Tsunade-sama could be afraid of Shinzune, and that Shinzune had a crush on Iruka, and it was only 10:30 in the morning. Of course it wasn't really news about Hinata but now they had proof, which meant only one thing, MAKEOVER!!!! Oh yeah, she was having a good day. Well except when she told gai's team about Ichkaru's. _I swear if Lee tries to kiss me one more time I'm going to show him the meaning of tiajutsu._ _Cha!!! _Inner Sakura was ranting while outer had spotted team 10.

Shikamaru meanwhile was having a very troublesome day, First he had to get out of bed, troublesome mother. Then his mother told him he had to stop playing shogi and go train, this both him and has father found to be too troublesome and continued playing only to be scolded by there wife/mother later. Then to top it all off his cloud watching was interrupted by a rather loud "SHIKAMARU GET YOU'RE LAZY ASS OVER HERE,"

courtesy of one very angry blond teammate, troublesome Ino. Shikamaru sighed as he saw the pink haired girl coming towards their group. "Choji hide man." Shikamaru said as he pushed Choji out of the way of the two girl's antics. Choji saw this and quickly got out of the way in time to be surprised when Sakura turned to them and told the whole team to meet at Ichkaru's at Twelve, then turn back to Ino so the two of them could talk about whatever it was they talk about, as long as it didn't have to do with him, he really couldn't care less.

"So Ino, what do you think?" "Well, I think we can defiantly play matchmaker with Hinata but a makeover is out of the question." Ino stated. "Really, why?" "geez, think about it Sakura, Hinata is the heir, the princess of the Hyuuga, if we go putting her in what we are wearing, Haishi would turn Konoha upside down to find us." Ino was shaking her head at this, _how on earth could she not of thought of that! _"Oh, I guess your right, but matchmaker is cool right?" "Right." "Then I got an idea." Oh yeah, they were going to have fun with this.

On the other side of Konoha said Hyuuga had finally tracked down Shino. With Kiba moved away to suna she, Shino, and Kurenai had become a three man team, they were supposed to get a replacement for Kiba but there weren't any ninja their age available.

So now she was talking with her one teammate, luckily she and Shino had become good friends over the years. "A-ano... Shino-kun, c-could you maybe come by Ichkaru's at twelve; the hokage wants us to be there." Shino smiled under his collar, glad that at least when she was around him her stutter almost went away completely. "Of course Hinata, however I must inquire if this has anything to do with a blond named Uzumaki." At this Hinata blushed but continued. "H-Hai, I think he has finally come home." "Indeed, we should probably get going if we are going to get there on time."

"Ok Tsunade, do you want the good news, the bad news, or the news so bad that you wont want to hear it but I have to tell you anyway first?" Jiraiya said as he sat down in a chair in the hokages office. "Okay, start with the best and work your way down" she sat down also because she had a feeling this was going to take a while.

"On a good note Naruto can probably sleep through the jounin exams, and as of right now his power is right around that of Kakashi. Now I'm not actually sure this is good but it seems he and the Kyuubi have become rather good friends." At this Tsunade jumped out of her chair "WHAT??" "Tsunade I said no interruptions till I was finished" Tsunade hesitantly nodded her head and sat back down. "Now apparently the Kyuubi had no control when she attacked Konoha, it seems using some jutsu she was summoned to our world, and as far as I know unless you have a straight portal to the demon realm going between the two worlds is a very rough ride. Miraculously the Kyuubi survived but came out very weak. It was then that our old teammate Orochimaru came and took advantage of the situation with a genjutsu that apparently made the Kyuubi attack Konoha." Jiraiya saw Tsunade start to question and just answered it flat out "Yes Kyuubi is a she." Her question now answered Tsunade backed off so Jiraiya could finish, although she now had another reason to kill Orochimaru.

"Last but not least for the good news, Naruto has a blood limit." Jiraiya stared to chuckle as he saw his teammate's eyes go wide. "Seriously, cause if this is a joke Jiraiya I'm going to kick your ass to next week." "I kid you not Tsunade, but this is where the news starts to get bad. Naruto addresses his new blood limit as Snipers Pact. I personally very much agree and will tell you now that it is the most powerful thing I have seen if he uses its final stage, but I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Naruto's Snipers Pact has as far as I describe three stages. The first is the most basic and the most common, when activated the black part of the boys pupil disappears and in its place there are white crosshairs that start at the edge of the iris and meet in the center. Some of the things that happen in this stage are Naruto instantly has precision with any long range Jutsu or throwing weapon that would make TenTen jealous. Another ability is what he calls focus, this allows him to zoom in enlarging a desired target, almost as if looking though binoculars except far more powerful and this has the ability to see through walls, woods, whatever. Think of this as a version of the beakuugan that can't see chakra and can only see in one direction, the range of the boy's sight in the chosen direction however puts the beakuugan to shame. Right now the farthest he can see clearly is around four miles; however that is increasing every day apparently. More on the physical side you can tell how far in he is focused due to the color of the crosshairs in his eyes. When they are pure white, he has not focused at all and has normal vision. As he focuses in the crosshairs become darker and darker until they are jet black, at that point he has focused in completely and is looking at something 4-5 miles away."

"The other two stages are more of a special attack. The second stage you will see his iris go black with white crosshairs, at this point he is able to do a technique called Sniper Square. The move itself is basically a bunch of ready made chakra bullets that can be released at any time. The best way I can describe these bullets is imagine a level 4 resengan, and then shrink it to the size of a marble. Now imagine him being able to create multiple of them, and then they hang around in the air spinning around Naruto until he needs to release them. Unfortunately he cant make more than two bullets a day or else he is so sapped he's useless. According to the Kyuubi the max the move will let you make is eight."

"Now the last stage, odds are we will probably never se this in action however you should be warned. In the last stage, his eyes will still be black but the crosshairs will start to spin. Once they stop spinning they will start to turn a crimson starting from the outside and working his way into the middle. At the same time the crosshairs start turning an orb of blue light will start to gather in Naruto's hand. This Tsunade is a power to be feared. I've only seen it once, and I thank Kama every day it wasn't aimed at me. Let me start of by saying that for some reason, probably for the better, Naruto can't just bring out this power. It apparently only comes out under periods of massive emotional stress. The boy refers to this move as Armageddon's Faunally."

"The reason I've seen it is because one day I left Naruto to train by himself while I went and got some supplies. Naruto took this as an Opportunity to get to know the Kyuubi a little better, and the Kyuubi agreed. The Kyuubi then apparently showed Naruto the memory of Orochimaru casting the genjutsu, and in a last attempt to fight of Orochimaru in his mind he unlocked and fired the move both in mind and in real world. The whole sky turned dark Tsunade, and all I could hear was white noise, it was then about a mile away I saw a massive beam of energy just rip through the land and everything on it. Knowing that had come from around where I left the kid I immediately went to find him. When I got there however the sight wasn't pretty. Naruto was just laying there on the ground, his shirt and part of his pants obliterated from the power. But that's not what shocked me. Right beyond Naruto was as best as I can describe it a gash in the earth about 100 yards wide and about seven miles long. Everything in it totally obliterated, from trees to rivers to hills to mountains, everything that was once there was just gone. Tsunade as much as I hate to admit it, I'm scared; the after affects to Naruto were massive. I thought the chakra burns on his hand were never going to heal, and he didn't wake up for two months. As of right now I have no idea how powerful that move will be if he uses it again but the time I saw it we were only one year into training and he was still gaining the power of his first tail, but I need to move on."

"A quick note, Naruto's genjutsu is in the toilet, for some reason when he accepted this blood limit he had to give up his genjutsu. He can still detect and release them just fine but any attempt to create one ends in failure and a waste of a lot of chakra. As far as I can tell this is the trade off for his blood limit." _Oh my god, that's a hell of a price to pay, this isn't like the sharingan or the beakugan, the only real downside to those is they use a lot of chakra, but this is the complete loss of one of a shinobis 3 main skills._ Tsunade thought, trying to figure out how she would get by with out genjutsu. "as you can see, as big a gift as Naruto's powers are, they are by all means an equal curse, but even so the boy is one extremely powerful youth. Because of the seal Naruto is slowly draining the Kyuubi's powers and has right now obtained about three tails. Now let me explain this, in all the power that he will obtain from the Kyuubi will be about the power of Arashi in his prime. So logically if you divide his power by nine that's about the power he gets with each tail he obtains. If you add that to the power he will get naturally, after all he is that mans son, and we have a soon to be walking god in our midst."

"However things do get worse, right now the really bad news." He saw his old teammate shift in her seat and he wondered how she would take this, Naruto was like a son to her. "Ok Tsunade before I say this you have to promise me that you won't act on this till it passes" Ok this was bad, what could be so wrong with her ottotu that she would act on it this instant. _Naruto what is wrong with you. _Reluctantly however she nodded her head so her teammate could continue. "What I'm about to say could mean the difference of Konoha having Naruto as their ally or enemy. Naruto… isn't the kid he used to be Tusa-chan, in all truth he couldn't care less about the respect of the villagers anymore, and he's all but completely given up on wanting to be hokage. I think… the only reason he even came back here was you, Iruka, Kakashi, and what's left of the Konoha Twelve, probably not including Neji, I don't know if Naruto will ever forgive Neji. But Naruto will tell them about the Kyuubi, probably at Ichkaru's in about 45 Minutes." Tsunade was shocked at how she saw Jiraiya, no one else would have noticed it, but being he old teammate she could tell, the great Jiraiya… was holding back tears. "I over heard him planning in the woods. I think if his friends take it bad, Naruto is going to leave, for good. In our travels Naruto stared to refer to us as wanderers, I have no trouble anymore thinking Naruto would become just that." _Oh shit _was the one thing running through the blond woman's mind right now. _Oh well, I guess we just have to trust that they will be responsible when Naruto tells them. _"come on, we have to get to the restaurant, if worse comes to worse, maybe seeing you will calm him down." Jiraiya said getting up from his chair. "You mean like get him to stay in Konoha?" "Well that would be nice. But I meant worst case scenario." Suddenly three words rushed through Tsunade's head _massive emotional stress _"he wouldn't." she said. "I don't know Tsunade, think about it. If you grew up in a village that treated you like shit, made multiple attempts on your life and done all of the other things that this village has done to that boy. All for something you had no control over. And then ¾ of the very small amount of people that while maybe not your friends, at least noticed you, started to call you a demon. I don't know about you Tsunade, but my emotions would be running pretty high, and I know I'd get even." Jiraiya then turned his back and headed for the door. "Wait, you said he would tell them at the meeting I set up at Ichkaru's. He doesn't even know about that yet." "I wouldn't bet on that Tsunade, all in all he is still best suited for head on confrontations, much like Kakashi, but he didn't earn the title ghost for nothing. With his eyes, Naruto is one hell of a scout, that and if he doesn't want to be seen, as you saw when we first arrived, he is damn near impossible to detect. But come on, a ramen restaurant awaits." That said the two old teammates left the office hoping for the best… and dreading the worst.

The Konoha 12 and there respective jounin's all waited in Ichkaru's wondering what Naruto would be like after al these years. Some were talking, Shikamaru and Shino had started a game of shogi, some people (Choji) ate some ramen while they waited, lee went on about the flames of youth and had a hugging session with Gai. But what caught the jounin's off guard were three things. The first was that Jiraiya and Tsunade came in wordlessly, and then went and stood in the corner as if they didn't want to be here. The second was Jiraiya had yet to do anything even remotely perverted, and the last. Tsunade looked… afraid. "What do you think is up with them?" Kurenai asked the masked jounin beside her. "Hmm… not sure, though I have a bad feeling that it has something to do with Naruto. Ah and speak of the devil."

That very moment the door to the restaurant opened and for the first time in three years everyone got a good look at all that was Naruto. The boy that left was gone and in his place stood this, Naruto was a respectable 6' and wore black baggy pants that had orange stripe down the side. Up top he had a skintight black tank top that was completely plain. They had never seen the peace of armor he was wearing though, he had a metal shoulder guard over his left shoulder, nothing fancy but it was held on by two straps. One went down to the right side of his waist and hooked on there. The other went just under the arm and didn't attach. Naruto's left arm was covered by a long loose sleeve that attached to the shoulder guard and stopped about halfway down the boy's hand. The sleeve itself was black with orange flames on the bottom. At Naruto's side was a long sword, not unbelievably long but longer than most full length katanas. Its Sheath was jet black and the handle was wrapped in silver and black lacing. He had his kunai and shuriken holsters on his left leg and on his right was a scroll holder with three scrolls. The last thing was his right arm was bandaged up to the up to the elbow almost like lee. "Hey Naruto, Why are you wearing all your armor?" Jiraiya said, already knowing the answer. "Ha, well you know me Ero-sennen, first impressions." Naruto said trademark grin in place. Almost instantly all of the Konoha twelve were up and questioning the blond.

Kurenai however stayed back, she looked to her side to see kakashi had dropped his book and the two sannen just looked… sad. _It looks like they all saw it too. _She thought. She defiantly caught it as for some reason the boy had made eye contact with her. _Those eyes, those were the eyes of someone who has seen far too much in his lifetime. _ She had seen that look before, and those were eyes that promised pain to anyone stupid enough to cross him, the eyes of a person who has had enough, and was done being kind about it.

Meanwhile Naruto was trying to fight his way through the crowd. "Naruto, after three years it seems the fire of youth still burns brightly within you, and therefore I challenge you, my eternal rival, to a friendly spar. Do you accept my challenge?" _Well, lee's the same_. "I'm sorry Lee, but I think the fires of youth may be in very short supply today." "Naruto, what is wrong my friend, your tone of voice is very un-youthful." At this everyone turned and looked at Naruto questioningly, after all what could be wrong he just got home. "A-ano N-Naruto-kun, if s-something is wrong p-please t-tell us." Everyone was surprised that Hinata was the one to ask, but soon they all turned back to Naruto when TenTen spoke up. "She's right Naruto, if something's wrong you should tell us, this party is for you after all." there was another long silence until Naruto finally spoke. "Damn, I was hoping you guys could enjoy the party first but it looks like there is no getting out of it. Everybody take a seat, this is a hell of a story."

Everyone found a seat and Naruto stood up in front, took a deep breath, and started to explain. "Unfortunately my return today has all the makings of being most… un-youthful. Though I doubt any of the Konoha twelve have cared enough to notice, but with the exception of the people in this room everyone in Konoha hates me, has made an attempt on my life, or planned an attempt for someone else. Today I tell you why, what do you all know of the Kyuubi no kitsune?" After a few seconds it was Shino who answered. "The Kyuubi no kitsune is the greatest of the greater demons. A nine tailed fox to be more precise. 16 years ago the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and in the battle the fourth sacrificed his life to kill the Kyuubi. The date I believe was October 10." "Very good Shino, however that story is not entirely true. Every textbook in Konoha will tell you otherwise but the Kyuubi did not die that day. The fourth was unable to kill the Kyuubi and did the next best thing; he sealed it away for all eternity. For this he needed to seal it into a human so that when the person died, so would the Kyuubi. Problem number 2 was that the person couldn't have a developed chakra system or the Kyuubi would break it and get free, so in short he had to seal it into a baby." Slowly but surly Naruto stared to lift his shirt and focus chakra into his stomach. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I am 16 years old, I was born on October 10, and I was that child." Everyone's eyes widened and their jaws dropped as what was just told to them sunk in. But before anyone had a chance to say anything a flash of light went off in the room. When there vision came back they saw something the wished didn't happen, Sakura of all people had tried to punch Naruto and Naruto had simply lifted his hand and blocked the punch.

"You monster, it's all your fault, it's your fault my father died. It's your fault all of my family is gone, it's your fault Sasuke left you demon!" Sakura said. Naruto saw all the hate in her eyes, and this time… he snapped. "You know what Sakura, maybe… just maybe, your right. If you, no, if this whole damn village wants a demon so bad, maybe is about time I obliged." Everyone just stood in shock at Naruto's words as he threw Sakura to the ground as if she was a rag doll. Naruto turned to the rest of the people in the restraint and finished what he came here to do. "Well since id say I have a good idea on your views of the matter at hand." He started to reach up to his head. "I think it's time I take my lea…" "Naruto stop right there, if you move that forehead protector one inch from where it is now I'll..." "You'll what Tsunade, kill me? Then by all means go ahead, you'll be a national hero, bigger than the fourth. I can see it now, all the kids will get out of school for July 19, the day the great Gondame Hokage truly killed the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi brat." Naruto laughed as he dropped his headband on the floor and started to walk out. But what he did next truly shocked everyone there. "Oh and Hinata" he said over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, if I ruined your birthday." That done he set a small wrapped box on the table and left, leaving a very confused group of ninja in his wake."

Then almost as one the room turned there attention to the shy Hyuuga in the back. "Well Hinata, is it?" lee said "a-ano it i-is my b-birthday." Hinata said through tears "then this belongs to you" Tsunade said as she handed the girl the present. The young Hyuuga grabbed the box and sprinted out the door. _Naruto, please let me get there in time. _Tsunade stood, a little surprised at the young heiress, but continued. "Alright, anyone who still wants Naruto to continue being a ninja of this village. Get to the main gate but do NOT attack or threaten him, Naruto will go to his house to get his things so we should be able to make it to the gate first."

After the ordered chaos of following out the hokages orders only three people ware still in the room. And Kakashi watched fearful as Tsunade bent down to pick up Naruto's headband and then walked over to Sakura. Tsunade was less that pleased, understatement of the century. That's like saying Sasuke was a little stuck up. But she was the Hokage and as such she kept her temper down as she walked over to the girl on the ground, and whispered in her ear. "_I saw that punch Sakura" _then she stood back up and continued. "Consider your self no longer my apprentice, and no longer a ninja. Give your headband to kakashi on the way out." That done Tsunade hurried off to the gate with the others.

Strangely Sakura noted that Kakashi had stopped beside her and taken his nose out of his book. "You know something Sakura, when we all got our genin students at the academy; I thought I was the luckiest and unluckiest guy there. After all, I got Sasuke Uchiha, the Uchiha prodigy and rookie of the year. Then I got Haruno Sakura, the smartest female Nin of the age. Then… I got Uzumaki Naruto, the load mouthed demon brat. Never in my life have I been so wrong about a group of kids. Ha, Sasuke was a traitorous bastard; Naruto was the only one to turn out to be a loyal and good ninja, although you just screwed that out the window. While probably earning Konoha an enemy that makes Orochimaru look fickle. But you, Haruno Sakura are without a doubt the biggest failure of my life. Even the Uchiha could see that the Kyuubi and Naruto are different beings when he was forced to tell him at the valley of the end. Oh well nothing can be done now" kakashi said as he took her headband and went after the Hokage.

Naruto was walking down the street and the gate was just coming into view. Thanks to some very useful space manipulation jutsu's and his newly acquired ability to seal things in scrolls; almost everything he owned was carried on his body. He was still wearing his armor though it had a few surprises tucked away now. In his long sleeve he had about 40 senbon needles (they worked the best with his blood limit, and they were easy to store.) thanks to the space jutsu he had about 25 shuruken and 15 kunai packed away in his holsters. In his scrolls he had sealed away his personal belongings. Things ranged from picture frames to utility items, but he had everything he needed. And as he approached the gate, there in his way stood the only three people ever to accept him. He didn't even notice that his eyes had activated and were now black.

"Here he comes." Said Jiraiya "remember if we want him to stay or at least not level Konoha we have to try and calm him down, NO THREATS OF ANY TYPE!" the masked jounin was a little confused about the leveling Konoha, but he figured the hokage would fill him in later. Then for the first time Jiraiya gat a good look at the boy's eyes. He paled as he realized they had just stopped spinning, and were starting to turn red. "Get out of my way Jiraiya, you too kakashi. I'm leaving one way or another, but I really don't want to have to go through you two to do it. Don't get me wrong however, I assure I will" Naruto said as he stopped and raised the growing blue orb in front of him. "Naruto think about what your doing." Tsunade said as she stepped out from behind Jiraiya. "If you use that here think of how many people are going to die. It's about 15,000 Naruto; do you really want to kill them?" Naruto started fighting in his head, if he used his jutsu now he would kill the only person who ever really loved him. Battles raged on trying to find out whether or not he could release it, he was still leaving alright, but he didn't know if he could… but he had to keep up the show. Just then he noticed the Konoha twelve minus Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura standing off to the side in awe, even Neji was there. "15,000 people, who have done what Tsunade, treat me like I'm a demon. Really I'm just doing the crime; they all punished me for it when I hadn't done anything. So, I think it's about time I got to have my end of the deal." That was it, the boy had convinced everyone there that he had no trouble doing this…. except the one that mattered. Tsunade could see it, she could see that she had found the old Naruto in there somewhere, she had gotten him to listen, now she just had to finish it off. But surprisingly Naruto spoke again.

"You know I had planned this for three weeks Tsunade, three weeks I've had to plan what I would do if things turned out for the worst. And in that time I swore upon my ninja way that no matter how bad it went, I would not resort to violence, I swore I would leave peacefully, and most importantly I swore I would never even think about using this attack." "Then why are you, you always keep your promises, that's what you used to say!" Everyone turned to see that it was Neji who had spoken. "Because Neji-san, not in three weeks and in my dreams could I have predicted how badly things would actually play out." Naruto said "Please Naruto, I do not follow, if you had three weeks and were expecting the worst surely you would have foreseen someone getting mad and attacking you." Lee said confused. "Ha, I guess you guys still don't know, why don't you tell them Tsunade? Tell them all what really happened at ichkaru's." _damn _Tsunade thought _now they went and reminded him of why he did this in the first place. _She sighed and turned to the group of chuunin. "Neji, Hinata, if you look at Naruto's left hand you'll see that all the bones were recently broken and some are still fractured." Both said teens instantly activated there eyes and nodded to confirm the hokages previous statement. Suddenly it all made sense to the lazy chuunin in the middle. "Wait Tsunade I think the Nara might have something." Naruto interrupted. Everyone turned to look at said boy to see him standing with his eyes wide in surprise. "Well are you going to fill us in or what Shikamaru?" Ino asked. Suddenly he snapped back into the real world and started trying to explain. "Um, with the Kyuubi in him Naruto has healing abilities far above that of the normal ninja. Think about it, the only way Naruto's hand would still be damaged after this long would be if Sakura used the super strength move in that punch. Back in Ichkaru's I noticed that Sakura had aimed for Naruto's temple, at first I thought she was just trying to deck him. But if you add in Tsunade's super strength… Sakura just tried to kill Naruto." He said his eyes still wide with shock. The look soon spread to everyone there, even Kakashi was surprised. "Bingo, somebody get this man his money" Naruto said as he turned back to the hokage.

"And that is why I am going to take this damn village down, even if it means I have to kill the only three people that ever accepted me."

_Damn it, _Tsunade though and as she tried to think of another plan when help came from somewhere no one saw coming. "The four people who accepted you Naruto, you'll have to go through me too" Kurenai said as she stepped forward between Kakashi and Tsunade. _Wait, she cares?_ Naruto though, the doubt re-entering his mind. _No, this is just a trick of Tsunade's. _"Oh really, and just how much is our grand hokage paying you to say that. After all, you've never really meet me, you have no idea who or what I am. So tell me why you seem to care so much?" the boy said with a sarcastic tone. "Naruto I'm not paying her anything and in all truth I'm surprised she would step in the way for y…" Tsunade stopped as Kurenai held her hand up. "You know what, your completely right Naruto, well except that I was paid." The jounin said "I have never actually met you, in all honesty until today the only way I've known you is by reputation. You asked why if all this is true I am willing to do this? Look to your left Naruto, look at all the people and tell me who are the two at the end." Said boy turned his head to look, and then turned back to Kurenai. "it' just Hinata and Shino, your students if I remember correctly." "Correct Naruto; now let me fill you in on a little something. Those two that you just pointed out, those two are both the closest thing I have to a family, and the reason I'm willing to do this. You may not yet know it, but you helped those two more than you could have imagined. Shino used to never come out unless we had training or a mission, he was so afraid that people would be scared of him for the bug he carries with him. You were the first person beside his family and his team that ever made an effort to get to know him. I believe when he described the first time you meet when he reluctantly told you about the bugs, he was completely expecting you to run away. According to him you're response once you saw it was an ear shattering 'KICK ASS' and then you asked him to teach you. Ever since then he has started to come out more and more, he has started to make more and more friends. You have no idea how happy I was when he first told me someone had accepted and even though his ability's were cool." Kurenai said as she pointed over at Shino. Naruto looked over to see Shino nodding his head. Now everyone could see the doubt on Naruto's face, but the good was still losing the war. The boy opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the jounin.

"I wasn't done yet Naruto; there is still one more person of the two." Hinata instantly paled in fear, Kurenai was the only person she told her secret to. What if she told Naruto?! "you again have no idea how much you helped Hinata, Hinata as everyone knows has always had a bit of a confidence problem. It used to be that she would never raise her voice, she would never say anything even if she thought something was wrong, and when she did finally speak up she was so nervous that she would stutter all the way through. She was always afraid to fight because she thought she was too weak, this wasn't her fault. It was that basterd Hiashi who pounded it into her head. All this happened until about three years ago during the chuunin exams, in the preliminaries. That day for the first time I saw the closest thing I have to a daughter fight to win with a determination I thought I would never see. Why do you ask? Honestly I don't know if it was because she started to believe in herself, but I do know it was because someone _else_ truly believed in her for the first time. That person was you Naruto; you were the inspiration to help her start to pick away at the barriers her father had put up over the years. In all truth you are kind of still her inspiration, now tell me how Hinata and Shino are going to feel if there inspiration and the first person to try and make friends with them blows up their entire village and then disappears. Huh?" Hinata meanwhile had invented a new shade of red. Her sensei hadn't quite told anybody, but she came awfully close.

That was it the last straw, there was no way he could do this, not when Kurenai put it like that. He could never hurt his precious people. Wait… No, he had to leave; he had to take all those people down a peg. But Tsunade, kakashi, Jiraiya, and now Kurenai, Hinata, and Shino were all hanging in the hopes that he would not destroy everything theave ever know. It was then that he made is decision.

"Very well, you win. You have my word that nothing will happen to Konoha this day." Naruto said just as he started to regain control. "On the condition that you all stand down and let me leave. I still have to release this jutsu and I can only hold it for so long." He said as he started walking towards the gate. Suddenly Tsunade jumped out in front of him and started talking. "I won't let you leave Naruto, you may not think it but there are still people who care about you" she said as she put herself between him and the gate. "She's right you know," it was kakashi who spoke "Naruto I know I made mistakes as your teacher, I know I played favorites with Sasuke, and I know I didn't treat you fairly. Now I will try and make up for that. No one here wants you to leave; even the other jounin's want you to stay. But that's my two cents worth Naruto; this is your life, and your choice." The boy turned to see everyone nodding there heads and started to worry, then it happened, the final nail in the coffin. "Naruto" Tsunade said "Jiraiya told me you spent much of the three years you were away looking for you parents. If you stay in Konoha, I can help you." That was it, his mind overflowed and the floodgates opened, all the feelings he was locking away cam rushing out in only a few sentences.

"DAMN IT, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN SO HUCH EASYER IF YOU ALL JUST HATED ME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!!! WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH ANYWAY, CANT YOU ALL SEE I'M A FREAKING DEMO…" he was interrupted by a small pair of hands wrapping around him from behind, not threateningly, but with the fingers laced to not let go. "Don't ever say that Naruto-kun. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you never give up. You are under no circumstances a demon." Said boy turned in the young girl's arms to see Hyuuga Hinata talking through tears. "I'm sorry Hinata, but the boy you speak of… died about forty-five minutes ago at a place called ichkaru's. It is unfortunate to say that I truly am a de…" "I said stop Naruto, would a demon have helped me and shino all those years ago? Would a demon have spared Sakura after what she did? WOULD A DEMON HAVE REMEMBERED MY BIRTHDAY?" Hinata almost yelled through her tears. Everyone's jaw dropped at what had transpired, Hinata had gone to stop Naruto, almost yelled in the process, and while the words were slurred a bit from the tears not once did she stutter.

It was then Naruto noticed a silver glare around her neck, he instantly recognized the necklace he bought for her in wave. It had silver chains that lead down to a teardrop shaped pearl that had a small diamond inside and centered placed into it. "Hinata I have to ask you to let go. I have to release this jutsu soon and if your anywhere near me you'll die. Besides, you of all people know what its like to stay in a place where nobody loves you, I have to leave." As she heard this her grip on the boy tightened. "No Naruto I'm not letting go, not when you so badly need me to hold on." Naruto locked eyes with Hinata and got lost in a sea of lavender. There was something about her eyes, something in those never ending lavender eye's that calmed him down. Suddenly he felt like he would do anything if just to get this girl to stop crying. He didn't know why, but he would. "Hinata I hope you understand that I am truly sorry for this but I can't hold this jutsu any longer, HOKAGE-SAMA PLEASE CATCH HINATA AS IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF SHE WERE TO GET HURT."

Everyone was confused until they saw Naruto throw Hinata, forcing her to let go, the entire 100 foot distance where Tsunade caught the frightened young girl. After seeing Hinata was safe Naruto checked around, _good there is no one within 100 feet. They should survive the blast. _Naruto thought as he started to release the jutsu. Everyone watched in horror as the very ground beneath the boys feet began to crumble and raise up as if gravity didn't exist. Suddenly as they saw his eyes pulse a crimson wave from the center outward, he raised his hand and pointed it up towards the sky. "_Armageddon's Faunally_" he whispered as he finally let it go. Within an instant everyone there was thrown back by the sheer power of the attack, and when they were collected enough, all they could do was stare at the blue beam of light that had erupted from Naruto's hand. It seemed as if the clouds had parted, as if sound had run away in fear, and as if time itself had stopped as they looked upon the attack that almost meant the demise of there home. All stood in shock, Kakashi suddenly wasn't wondering about what the hokage had meant when she said 'level Konoha' _Oh my god _thought Kakashi _this thing wouldn't just level Konoha. It would have done that and then leveled everything for the next five miles. _As the blast started to come to and everyone just stared, too scared to move, too scared to breath. As one the all looked to where the blast had come from.

There in the middle of a ten foot crater was Uzumaki Naruto, his shirt and armor shredded and long gone, his pants had the left leg torn off but his hitai-tie was completely untouched. And so he was, sitting there in the hole using his arm to support himself. Slowly but shurly, he started to stand.

_He should be out cold. _Thought Jiraiya _and there's now way he should be able to stand._

"I know what you thinking Jiraiya." Naruto said in forced words "and your right. Soon ill run out of chakra and it will be a much smaller scale of the first time this happened. But I didn't put all my chakra into it like I'm supposed to. That's why the blast was so small and why I'm not out like a light.

It almost couldn't be real. There wasn't a scratch on him, but four people knew that that was his exterior, his inside was a mess. Tsunade could tell because she was a medic, Jiraiya had seen it before, and the Hyuuga's could see with there eyes, but to everyone else, Naruto was in top shape. "Hokage-sama" Tsunade shivered at the name, for some reason it just didn't sound right coming from the kid." I have no intention of running from Konoha, so don't bother wasting your time. Also, in two months I expect a folder with everything Konoha knows about my family, until we meet again." Then Naruto was gone again.

"damn, I got to get him to teach me how to do that." Tsunade said. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw Kakashi rounding up a team of ANBU. "Don't bother Kakashi, you wont find him." She then looked over to Kurenai and Hinata. "And thank you two, you both served both me and Konoha above and beyond the expectations, if you two had not done what you did, there would be far more damage than a 10 foot crater." Unsurprisingly it was Kurenai who spoke. "Thank you hokage-sama, but I didn't do it for you." She said as she motioned to the girl beside her. "Y-yes, t-thank you hokage-sama, b-but u-understand that in n-no way did I d-do it for Konoha."

Naruto suddenly faded into existence and looked around. "yup, just the way I left it." This was his sanctuary, his hideout. It was so well hidden that the ANBU would have trouble finding the place, and was rigged with enough traps to make a kage sweat, Unless you knew the safe way through of course. It wasn't much just a small shack with a bed, some med supplies, and some food. The med supplies was here because this was where he would escape from the villagers attacks when he was younger, and sometimes he came in hurt pretty badly. The bed and the food were there because sometimes it would take awhile for the villagers to cool off, and he needed a place to stay. But that didn't matter, if he didn't stop wasting chakra soon he wouldn't be around to care much longer. And in good anime fashion, he was asleep before his pillow hit the bed.

Suddenly he found himself in a long hallway, it was a nice place, one of those hallways you would see in traditional Japanese temples. He knew this place all two well, here was where he trained in his sleep, sometimes played games, and even just sat around, This was his home if ever he had one. Then he walked through the door at the end into a massive room, and there in the middle sat a beautiful woman staring at a shogi board. She stood a respectable 5'7' and was wearing a blue kimono. She had jet black hair and deep green eyes that you could lose yourself in. her hair was pulled up into a bun and held there by a pair of hair sticks. Naruto walked over to the other side of the board and moved a pawn forward. "Your move, Kyu-chan."

It was now 10:00 and Tsunade, Jiraiya, and a clean up team was all that was left. Jiraiya meanwhile watched his old teammate. While it would be nothing compared to what Naruto was going though, this would traumatize her too, and he still had to make sure she saw the truth about Naruto. Reluctantly he walked up and put a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "I swear Jiraiya if you touch me in anyway that could even be close to perverted I assure you, you will not wake up tomorrow. I'm really not up to this right now." Tsunade said as she watched the ANBU leave. "I know Tsunade, but you still need to come to terms with something else. As big as what your going through right now you still have to remember Naruto, What that boy went through today makes mass trauma look like a gift from god. You need to understand that whenever Naruto decides or is healthy enough to come out again, odds are he won't be the same person. As much as I hate to admit it, the boy was right earlier today. Uzumaki Naruto died today at a little ramen restaurant called Ichkaru's. You need to accept it and move on, especially if you still want to try and adopt the boy." Jiraiya said trying to force a smile at the end "how do you know about that?" Tsunade asked trying to keep herself together. She wouldn't break down in public, she was the hokage. If people saw her crying, she could only imagine the chaos. "I'm not one of the best spies in the world for nothing Tusa-chan" Jiraiya was hoping her old nickname would cheer her up. "But like I said before, Naruto is uncommonly sharp, period. I suggest you get around to asking him before he takes it upon himself to find out."

That was it; she couldn't take this anymore, she didn't care if anyone saw her. Jiraiya just froze as his teammate buried her head into his shoulder and started crying.  
Only once in here life had anyone ever seen her cry, and that was the day Dan and Nawaki died. Jiraiya silently cursed, any other situation and she was practically throwing herself at him. But unfortunately his perverted side had to step down once more as the woman's well being to precedence. "Come on Tsunade let's get to your office, weather you like it or not your still the Hokage, and you've got work to do." He saw the depressed look on his teammates face and felt so bad, she had stopped crying but he could tell that even if she managed to get something done it would be shoddy work at best. "On second thought Tsunade, let's get you home. I'll fill in for you tomorrow so you can recover." He saw the smile on his teammates face and relaxed. This would be the first time in a while he had helped somebody without asking for anything in return, but she needed it. Physically she was fine, but mentally she was a mess. _Damn _thought Tsunade. _I never thought I would ever have to thank Jiraiya._

Two weeks later…

Tsunade was sitting at her desk, folder in one hand, and evaluations in the other. God she hated the yearly evaluations. She enjoyed seeing how the ninja progressed, and it helped get missions done with far less casualties, but god there was a lot of paperwork! The folder in the other hand was what Naruto had requested. She didn't know how he would take it, but this was what he asked for. Yes, she knew he didn't want it for a little while yet but they already had everything sitting in a file so all she could do was watch the dust gather on it.

She set the folder aside however because she was getting to the only interesting part about evaluations, the Konoha twelve. With anticipation she opened Kurenai's file.

Aburume Shino.

Age: 16

Sex: male

Rank: chuunin

Statistics:

Ninjutsu: 258

Tiajutsu: 294

Genjutsu: 288

Speed: 310

Agility: 260

Strength: 314

Notes: Shino is an Aburume and as such he has an affinity with kilika bugs. He can use them for tracking, gathering info, and upping his abilities in certain areas. His primary class is tracker and subclass is assassin, also like the rest of his clan shino very much prides himself on his knowledge and not letting anything cloud his judgment.

Hyuuga Hinata

Age: 16

Sex: female

Rank: chuunin

Statistics 

Ninjutsu: 217

Tiajutsu: 298 (with Jyuuken)

Genjutsu: 254

Speed: 290

Agility: 347

Strength: 198

Notes: Hyuuga Hinata has the doujutsu and bloodline Beakugan; she is also the current heir to the head of the household. Hinata also has great potential however her self confidence is very low. This I have reason to believe was caused because of family problems at home. Also the young Hyuuga has an infatuation with said shinobi Uzumaki Naruto. I personally agree with her choice however with her shyness I don't know if she will ever be able to tell him. Said boy also seems to have a positive effect on Hinata as seen in the chuunin exams three years ago. Her primary class is scout with her beakugan.

PERSONAL NOTES: As I have said before with the loss of Kiba Inuzuka from team 8, we are now a three man team. As accomplished as I believe my team is it is still unwise to do anything above C class missions without a fourth to help us in dangerous situations. Therefore I must request a permanent replacement that will work well with my team, and be a trustworthy teammate. Preferably someone who works well as a scout as Hinata's beakugan is amazing but she only has so much chakra and can't be awake all the time. It MUST however be someone with high levels of abilities in head on confrontations as no one on team 8 is well suited for this position and head on confrontations do happen. Unfortunately when this occurs the only person we have that can even do anything is shino and like I said this is not his forte. In short, should team 8 take a B or higher mission and are found while scouting or the mission itself calls for direct fighting, the chances of survival of my team are slim at best. Please try to find an addition to our team as it is dangerous to continue in the current situation. Thank you.

Yuuhi Kurenai.

Tsunade sighed as she put down the folder, she knew very well of Kurenai's situation and if she were her she would be mad too, but there just weren't any ninja available. Not to mention the catastrophe that was team 7. That however was the end of the evaluations as Kakashi no longer had a team too evaluate. "Damn this job." Tsunade said to the wall. "Damn Sasuke for being a traitor, damn the Inuzuka for moving to suna, and damn the Kyuubi for starting it all." She said as she poured herself a glass of sake. "you know you really should watch who you insult human, your one of only about 6 of your kind to earn my respect and that and the kit is the only reason I wont kill you for that."

Tsunade whipped around in her desk to find herself staring into the blood read eyes of a woman she had never seen before. But knowledge of her or not she had deadliness rolling off her in waves. Then as she walked around the hokages desk her eyes reverted to there normal deep green and Tsunade put two and two together. "Wait, Kyuubi?" Tsunade looked her up and down and even with her figure; let's just say she was envious. "Indeed, and you would do well to remember it. Also don't worry; I can separate from Naruto at his consent for a set amount of time. He knows I am here, and I don't plan on destroying anything right now. Right now, I have business that needs attending to." She said as she sat opposite the hokage. "Really? I'm sorry but I must ask if you know anything about Naruto, Jiraiya said this might have really changed him." Kyuubi just laughed and got to the point. "That is the reason I am here, although you may not believe me, I care about the kit just as much as you do, and this thing really did change him. Over the past two weeks that smile he used to wear is replaced with an almost constant frown and sometimes a smirk. His demeanor itself is cold and his eyes no longer have that light that everyone always saw in him. But the old Naruto is there, locked away behind so many doors that its almost completely gone. I want that old Naruto back just as much as you do, enough so that I am willing to set aside my pride."

Tsunade shifted in her confusion, not only was THE Kyuubi having a civil conversation with her it seemed that she was just as worried about Naruto as she was and was now talking about pride. "As much as it pains me to ask help of a human, I can't get to Naruto by myself, something about this place got to him two weeks ago even when I could not talk sense into him. I am now asking your help Tsunade, we both have the same goal, and I'm very sure we won't be able to do it on our own. I will try to keep setting him on the right path for now, but I have the feeling that only something from this world can bring him back. So once again I ask you, Please… Please." Tsunade just sat in shock, its not every day you have a conversation with a demon, much less a greater demon, much less the greatest of demons, and even more so have them almost beg for your help.

Suddenly Tsunade snapped too and realized Kyuubi was waiting. "Of course, I would do anything to help my otouto. However I must see if you can give me an estement of Naruto's power, Jiraiya told me about his blood limit and his genjutsu but he never really gave me an actual level." Suddenly Kyuubi had a folder in her hand "I think that if Naruto and your prized copy ninja both got serious, they would probably be deadlocked until later on where Naruto would just out last him, for any details, it all in here." she said as she handed Tsunade the folder. "What is this?" Tsunade asked "its Naruto's evaluation, don't worry I did it to Konoha's standards. Oh and a word of the wise, don't make the mistake of underestimating that kid Tsunade, he hates that. Orochimaru and Sasuke are underestimating him by stopping trying to kill him all together, and the Akatsukiare doing the same by giving him time to get stronger, because that's all it is now, a matter of time."

"Right now however I must go, the kit will wake from his healing soon and I need to be there." Tsunade got up and walked around the desk to the Kyuubi. "wait you said Naruto was unconscious. When did that happen, I saw the way his chakra paths looked after that attack and while they were falling apart, for his body to heal he would have only needed about 48 hours of rest." To this Kyuubi responded "Maybe I should educate you on the gravity of the situation, that attack that you all saw two weeks ago was nothing, the first time he did that it was bigger. As the perverted one probably told you it took a couple of months to wake up, that's because when that particular attack is used it uses all the chakra in the boys body, his and mine. Somehow he was able to stop it from using up my chakra at all and still save enough of his to stay conscious for about three minutes. I don't know how, the last time it was uncontrollable and drained everything in his body. I think that this was a one time occurrence and next time, should we be unlucky enough to have one he will not be able to hold it back. As for why he is out for so long I don't know, it's just what happens. Now, as I said before I must go." Tsunade watched as the woman stepped out of her office and looked at the file in her hand.

_Naruto, _thought Tsunade as she opened the file. _Holy shit._

Uzumaki Naruto 

Age: 16

Sex: Male

Rank: Missing Nin

Statistics

Ninjutsu: 523

Tiajutsu: 512

Genjutsu: 0

Speed: 503

Agility: 549

Strength: 467

Notes: Naruto is the single possessor of the Snipers pact doujutsu; I believe said details have already been explained so I shall not go into detail. Also as you saw above Naruto has no ability to cast Genjutsu. The boy is also an excellent tactician in battle, though not very good away from it like in planning positions for war like the Nara, he can come up with instant strategies for 3-4 People if he knows a good deal about them in any situation. As of now Naruto Knows around 600 Jutsu and most of them are long lost, forgotten in the sands of time. His trap skills are also very high and even without genjutsu he can stay hidden unbelievably well. I once again urge you not to underestimate him as it is easy to do, and thank you for your help. Naruto has a fighter/scout classing.

Tsunade set the file on her desk and sighed, it had oh so respectively reminded her that Naruto was now a missing nin since he resigned and could resign with any nation he wanted. This was, in good Nara fashion, troublesome. She looked over to her clock,_ wow 11:30 already I've got to get home. _With said thought she locked up and left for her house, knowing tomorrow was the day Naruto came back… again.

_Two weeks later and I'm still cursing my promises. _Thought Naruto as he approached the gate once more. **Come on kit they accept you now; you should try and make some friends. **Kyuubi replied in his head. _Uh, no thanks Kyu-chan in case you haven't noticed friends get you nowhere but trouble. _He thought back. **Ok kit but you still need to get the human to heal you, your not even close to in top form yet, so no fighting. **_Fine, fine, you win, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. _He was no longer wearing his armor for missions but was now in his normal clothes. They weren't much different; instead of the long sleeved shoulder guard he wore a black jacket that had a stripe of orange going across the top half. The only other difference was instead of three scrolls on his leg he now had four, and he wasn't wearing his sword. that and since he didn't have his headband anymore his longer blond hair fell a bit into his face.

"Halt, state your name and business in Konoha" said the chuunin guard at the gate. Naruto's fist clenched, he didn't want to have to do this, it would be so much easier just to blast his way in. **uh un Naruto, no fighting. **_Fine._ "My name is of little importance, all I ask is an audience with the hokage and then hopefully I can leave. Please go to Tsunade-sama and tell her I'm back." The guard was confused but seeing the mans decreased state of health he complied. "Very well but you are not to move from that spot until I return" he said as he motioned for some of the other guards to come watch the man. "Since you have refused to give any information about yourself we have grounds to kill you if we even think anything is up, please give us no reason to do so." Naruto just laughed "Ha, you could try gatekeeper, you could try." He said in a voice that sent shivers down the guard's spine. " suku, i want you to watch this one, i don't trust him one bi..." "as well you shouldn't" Naruto cut him off "but i am in a hurry and the quicker you get the hokage the quicker i can leave." he finished staring at the guard. "very well stranger, i shall ask the hokage." the guard said as he took off towards the tower. "well i guess there is nothing left to do but wait."

now he really did have to wait, Naruto hated waiting so he decided he mine as well sit down, so he turned, walked over to a tree and sat down. then he reached into his bag to pull out his book... "stop! what are you pulling out?" said a female voice. _interesting _thought Naruto _i never thought they would put a Hyuuga on the gate._ "why don't you look for yourself love? after all, that beakugan of yours is quite a bloodline" he said as he looked the girl in the eyes. _my god, she cant be more than twelve years old. _"let's see, headband around the neck, about twelve, long hair, you must be Hyuuga hanabi, the younger of the two heirs, correct? ha, that young and already a chuunin, Congratulations." hanabi was astounded, this stranger knew so much, how was that possible. "yes, i am Hyuuga Hanabi, however i must ask how you know both my name and so much about my family?" she replied "also i am not a chuunin yet, we are still genin and this is a low c-ranked mission, the man who went to get the hokage is our sensei." she spoke with a stuck up, high and mighty voice, but then with the exception of Hinata that is pretty much what he had come to expect of the Hyuuga. "lets just say that your reputation precedes both you and your kin, and i mean that in the absolute worst way possible, with the exception of your older sister of course." hanabi was sent for a loop, this... person, not only just insulted her and her family, but said that Hinata was better than them. "oh no mister you got that reversed, Hinata is the failure and has been all her life, she is a nobody and doesn't deserve to be called a Hyuuga." Naruto looked the girl up and down almost as if he was trying to figure something out. "Nope, i have to say i was quite right the first time, and how lowly you speak of your own sister proves my point, expectably after she saved you all." confused hanabi tilted her head as if trying to ask what he meant. "oh well, it will probably still be awhile so im going to take a nap." he finished as he leaned against a tree. "Wait, i still didn't get your name." hanabi asked. and just before he closed his eye's he responded "that's because i didn't give it." hanabi was starting to get angry and as she went to kick him she realized he had already fallen asleep! she really was starting to dislike this person... whoever the hell he was.


	2. The new Naruto

Hola fellow readers, and welcome to the second installment of the story you are currently reading. i would like to thank kanodaisuke for being my first revewer and for helping me with some of the words and dates. i am a avid fan of naruto but spell like a kindergardener so any mistakes i make if you would please tell them to me it would be much appreciated. Now with no more gilding the lilly, and with no more adu, i give you... the disclamer. yay disclamer!!

Disclamer: i don't own Naruto. pity really

Tsunade however was leaving the office, this was the one day of the week where she could actually go out and have lunch. As for today there was a quiet little dango shop about two blocks down that she had been wanting to try for a while but never got the chance. Unfortunatly she knew that today would not be that day as she saw a low level jounin approching her. it seemed like everywhere she went someone wanted something, weather it be some lower ninja with a report or another damn councle member too lazy to do there own chores and wanting to make it another D-class mission, she could'nt step into the open without someone wanting something.

"Tsunade-sama, i have news." the gate guard said as he approched the hokage. "well out with it then as i'm on my way to lunch" she replied to the jounin who she recognized as daisuke. "I'm sorry to disturb you Hokage-sama but there is a man at the gate." tsunade just wanted lunch but instead she got this, she was sure that kama had something agaist her. "i fail to see the problem Daisuke, there are people at the gate all the time, what makes this one so special?" she asked. "well, everything hokage-sama. as the man came up to the gate i had Hanabi Hyuuga check him and his chakra pathways are falling apart, to the point that i cant beleave he could stand. also when we asked his name and buisness here he said that his name was uninportant and that all he wanted was to talk to you so he could work things out and and leave." "tell me what did this man look like." tusaide said suddenly interested. "well i guess he was right around 6 foot and had messy blond hair, he and blue eyes and a very deadly aura about him, although he wore no headband he has definantly had ninja training. other than that..." "that's more than enough, take me too him." tsunade said in a rush. for a moment the jounin froze, first he was sure he was going to get a demotion or something for intterupting the Hokage, but now she was all the sudden interested in this man, it was a strange day indeed. "follow me." he said when he regained his composure. and the two took off.

At the gate...

"can you beleave he fell asleep?" suki asked "actually i can, you guy would be shocked if you could see how torn up that guys chakra pathways were. but i still want to know what he ment when he said my sister saved us. it dos'nt make any sense, the only thing that happend here latly was that huge blast by the gates training areas. but that couldent be it because the hokage herself adressed the town and told us it was a kage level experiment, still i think the two might be connected." hanabi said, this stranger had put some crazy ideas in her head and now she wanted answers. and she would get them if she had to use her status to do so. "why don't you ask her yourself, the hokage and sensei are coming this way." Konohamaru replied.

Just then tsunade and diasuke arrived at the gates. Hanabi was about to question the hokage when she realized that tsunade was starting to get that look her father got that was all buisness. "where is he?" damanded tusnade. "well he's over there, believe it or not the guy fell asleep." hanabi pointed at the base of the tree to were naruto was sleeping. "he's also pretty messed up though, i cant beleave he could stand." tsunade look over at the sleeping form of the boy and sighed _yup, thats definantly naruto, or whats left of him. _"yes i can see, alright i'll take him to the hospital, team 21, as you were." "Hai, Hokage-sama." daisuke said as they hopped back on the wall.

"Naruto" tsunade said, "i Hope your all still you" as she walked twords the hospital she could see all the glares that people on the streets were giving her. _is this what you lived with naruto? no, if they are that willing to show there hatred in front of the hokage, i can only imagine what happens when i'm not here. _she put up her hokage face as she walked through the hospital doors. "Mezui-san" she said to the man a the front desk "i need shinzune in room 12 now and i need Kakashi and jiraiya in my office in 15 minutes." "hai hokage-sama" he repied while picking up the phone. tsunade took Naruto and put him in the room, Rooms 10-15 were always kept open in case of life threatining situations. she set naruto on the bed and started to work on his Chakra system. as soon as she started working she confermed that naruto was in stable condition. she sat back in the chair and collected her thoughts, there was'nt much she could do without naruto awake. Just then shinzune came in. "you called for me hokage-samaaaaa IS THAT NARUTO?!" she jumped in surprise. "yes, as much as i hate too say it. shinzune i need you to stay here and watch him, he is in stable condition and i healed him mostly but there are a few things that are still a threat." Shinzune tilited her head as if confused but the hokage beat her too it. "There are a couple of things that a docter needs imput to heal as you know, there are still a couple and i don't trust him with any other docter than you. if you would please stay with him and when he wakes up will you heal him and send him too my office? " "of course Tsunade, i'll have him fixed up like new in no time." tsunade sighed in relief, yet another long day as a hokage, and she still had to deal with naruto's missing nin status when he woke up. "thank you shinzune, i owe you one." tsunade said as she got up too leave "and if you would come with him when you come to my office it would be much appreciated." she said as she closed the door.

at the hokage tower...

"Jariya, Kakashi, the reason you were summoned is because naruto has returned to konoha. though his return was quite interesting and he showed up just as hurt as he was the day he left but i healed him and shinzune is now waiting for him to wake up. The reason i called you all here is to discuss naruto's status as a nin." "i don't get it he's still just a genin is'nt he?" kakashi asked in confusion. "well... no, two weeks ago naruto turned in his headband witch offically made him a missing nin. however there are still a few problums with this status. one: Naruto's not missing as he is at the hospital and two: we really need to get him back with us, as you know we are short-handed anyway but the most important thing is that he stay with konoha. that is one person that i really do not want to fight in any future wars. that is why you are here, Iruka would be here two as he knows much more about the boys younger years than all of us. Unfortunantly he is on a mission so it's just us. any comments so far?" she said as she looked about the room, seeing the nods she continued. "I have recently contacted a source that gave me some very useful information, they said that two weeks ago there was something here, from his life before he left with you jiraiya, that calmed him down. seeing that there is still a konoha today, i believe them. I have no other details really, it could be someone or something, but thats what we are here to find." Kakashi sighed and spoke up "so how exactaly are we supposed to find this needle in a haystack, that could be any person or anything frome naruto's entire life." "i have to agree with Kakashi Tsunade, thats just too much to look through." Jiraiya said. "your right, it is, thats why i want you two to put a file together on the years you knew Naruto. then give them to me and i will look for something that might work. Yes, i know it's not much but it's the best plan i have." tsunade said. "dissmissed. and i want them by next week." and so they left tsunade to her work.

Kakashi and jiraiya were walking down the hall. "so what years have you got too report on?" Jiraiya asked. "i actually get off pretty easy, I only knew Naruto for a year. then i handed him off to you. hey speak of the devil here he comes now!" the two looked down the hall to see a blond figure coming twords them. "Hey Naruto." Jiraiya said. "..." was all they got out of him as he never once looked at them as he passed. "Naruto!" Jiraiya started to yell but Kakashi stopped him, "Give him time Jiraiya, he's probobly just got a lot on his mind. Lets go, i need to find Asuma, and i'm pretty sure you have reserch to be doing correct?" Jiraiya stopped and thought for a moment. "you know what, you're right."

tsunade opened her desk drawer and searched around for a mitute untill she found a headband... Naruto's headband. it was old and dull, with scratches all over it. It looked like it was past due to be changed about 20 years ago. The metal was a steel instead of the new alloys they used now, in short it was time to get Naruto a new headband. "Tsunade-sama, you called." "Naruto! oh my god i'm so glad your ok, and what ever happened to baa-chan." she said as she walked around her desk to hug the blond, but when she did she hugged... air? "you know, you really should'nt do that, it's unbefitting of a hokage." she whipped around to see that somehow naruto had gotten behind her. "and as for Baa-chan, if you did'nt want people to adress you with respect, i have to say Kage was'nt the greatest career choice." he said in a monotoned voice. that was the first time she got a good look at his eyes. gone were the cerulean blue orbs that radiated happyness, and in there place stood a much duller blue that knew nothing but death. they say that the eye's are windows to the soul, if that was the truth tsunade knew that his soul died long ago. Konoha broke his will, Sakura broke his heart, and Sasuke broke his dreams. it seemed all he was running off now was determination, and revenge. "Naruto..." she said worried. "Please don't make this a habit tsunade, i have things i could be doing so if you ar'nt going to say anything then thank you very much for healing me." he said as he started to walk away. "oh and Shizune said to tell you she had a rough case come in so she could'nt make it." "Naruto wait, i wanted to talk to you about becoming a ninja again." tsunade blurted out. after a few seconds of uncomfortable slience naruto took the floor. "No." he said flatly. "What why?" Tsunade asked. "because, you just asked me to put my life on the line for somthing i no longer care about. when i became a ninja when i was younger i was following an impossible dream to become a hokage, yes i wanted to protect those that were kind to me but back then it was only Iruka-sensei. but you can keep your desk as i no longer care, and the only people here i still care about are you, Jiraiya, and Kakashi, and i'm decently sure you can take care of yourselves. tell me tsunade, would you put your life on the line for a village you would just as soon watch burn?" a silence insued as tsunade took in what naruto had said, and for some reason she could'nt find any words. "humph, did'nt think so. and that is why i refuse to becom... " he was innterupted when the door started to open. both turned to see Kurenai stick her head through the door.

"sorry, hokage-sama we came to pick up a mission and the desk said you were free." she said as team 8 walked in. "oh my gosh is that you naruto? it is, what are you doing here?" kurenai asked. "well Naruto and i were just talking about reinstating him as a ninja, right Naruto?" Tsunade said hoping he would get the hint. Naruto knew however that now was not the time to be so forward as he was with the hokage only. "yes, it's shaping up to be quite a conversation i must say." he said as he put up a smile, just then he looked over behind Kurenai and there in the back was hinata, shy old hinata, the very reason he was still here and even he did not know why. silence set over the room for the third time that day until Hinata made an attempt to speak up. "s-so are you r-really g-going to b-become a n-ninja a-gain n-n-naruto?" she forced out blushing. naruto's mind did a 180 once more and he still did'nt know why but before he could even stop himself he replied "Yes, Hinata, i think i'll do just that."and he walked up to the desk and grabbed his old headband from its spot on the table. "that is of course assuming konoha is willing to comply." he said as he turned to the hokage questioningly. surprised by the turn of events tsunade had to gather her thoughts before answering. "of course, welcome back naruto." she said with a smile. she did'nt know why, but she sure was'nt going to pass up a miracal. "well than if my buissness is done i guess i'll get out of your way." Naruto said. "actually if you would pease stay i have one more thing i need to talk to you about. Kurenai here is your mission and you can come back to get another as soon as that is complete if you like." she said as she handed Kurenai a file. "and good luck. dissmissed." hearing this team 8 left the office to go complete yet another low-C-class mission with ease.

"May I ask what you want me for?" Naruto asked. "Yes, and i actually did still need you. if i reasign you as a genin you will no doubt be the strongest genin to ever live and i need you on some higher missions. Because of your strength i am going to give you an instant promotion to chuunin. Is this understood?" she asked "hai... " he replied cautiously. just because he joined as a ninja does'nt mean he trusted anyone. "thats all then, i will assign you a team and you will be on duty in a week." Naruto sighed, glad she was'nt asking questions... yet. "Oh and Naruto." _damn. _"why did you change your mind?" she asked, she was'nt going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she still wanted to know why. "Lets just say i found something worth fighting for." and with that he left tsunade to her buissness.

_He found something worth fighting for? _Tsunade thought _i don't get it all that happend was he talked with Hinata and... no way._

_(Flashback, tsunades veiw.)_

_Two weeks ago..._

_Tsunade could'nt really hear wat was being said. she was still in a bit of shock due to hinata grabbing Naruto like that. but now they were talking in whispers and she did'nt dare try to get any closer for fear of scaring naruto into releasing the jutsu when she heard Hinata yell out. "WOULD A DEMON HAVE REMEMBERED MY BIRTHDAY?!?! _

_but then they started whispering again and she was once again put out of the loop until she heard Naruto call her name. "TSUNADE PLEASE CATCH HINATA AS IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF SHE GOT HURT." before she had time to think she realized that naruto had thrown the poor girl!! but it was only after she saw why. she watched as her son released the jutsu up in the air. _now i understand _she thought as she put the poor girl down. _ he did it to save her.

_(end flashback)_

_It's Hinata... _she thought, though she did'nt think even they knew it themselves. she pulled out Kurenai's file and smiled, Maybe the Kama did'nt hate her after all. after all, if she was lucky she would be killing not two but four birds with one stone, Kurenai would get a fourth with qualifacations far above what she had dreamed of. she would'nt have to worry about team 8 saftey as much as they mine as well have two high class Jounin. hopefully hinata could find the old Naruto somewhere, and depending on how things go, she may have just set up Konoha's newest couple. Smileing she pulled out a peace of paper and mad it official.

_By decree of Tsunade, The Hokage of Konoha, team eight, lead by Yuuhi Kurenai will consist of Abarume Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, And Uzumaki Naruto._

_Tsunade._

she looked at it and laughed, normally these things were supposed to be much longer with reasons for the hokages dicitions and would the ninja work well together and what not. Right now, she liked her way just fine. It was short, sweet, to the point, and it had the hokage's signature on it, thats all that mattered. "sukakie-san" she called over the intercom to the front desk. "yes Hokage-sama" the little white box replied. "Get me Kurenai, and tell her she's going to LOVE her new team."

and there you have it sorry it's not quite as long as the first one, i was in a rush to get this out. until next time

Ghost...


	3. Of teams and trials

Dear readers, welcome yet again to 'What Time Left Forgotten' Chapter three, but please, don't let me keep you waiting. Read my fellow enthusiast… read.

Disclaimer: due to a series of unfortunate events, I still don't own Naruto, and as such anyone in the process of suing me is officially screwed over as I have now written a disclaimer. Thank you for your time, and attention.

Kurenai was, in short, confused. She had just left the Hokage's office not thirty minutes ago and now she was being called back. She did have hopes though; the messenger had said it had something to do with her team. If Tsunade had found a replacement for Kiba that fit all the requirements, she would run around Konoha fifty times if she had to and wouldn't have a complaint in the world._ Well I can hope._ She thought as she entered the tower for the second time that day. "Hey Sukakai-san, I was told to meet Tsunade again?" she asked the man at the desk. "Yes just a minute please Kurenai-sama." he said as he pressed the intercom button. "Hokage-sama Kurenai-sama is here should I send her up?" he asked within a few seconds she heard Tsunade's voice crack over the system. "Yes thank you. Please send her up." _oh crap _was the one thing running through Kurenai's mind, even over the intercom she could here the mischievous tone in her voice. That was bad as Tsunade could rival Naruto in Mischief if she really wanted, that and she didn't have the power to do anything against the hokage. "Thank you Sukakai-san" she said as she headed up the stairs. As she opened the door the smile she so feared was right there where she feared it. Grinning like a madman behind her desk was the hokage herself. "Come in, come in, and make yourself comfortable, it's going to be a long chat." Tsunade said while beckoning for Kurenai to come in. Kurenai sighed as she saw that the kage's smile was more one of good news than mischief, so a little more relaxed she obliged. "Would you like some sake?" Tsunade asked. _This is weird, she never shares her sake with anyone if she can help it _Kurenai thought. "Yes thanks" she said as she grabbed the offered cup.

"Kurenai," Tsunade said in a serious voice. "I have found you a permanent replacement for Kiba that I believe is far above and beyond what you ask." "Really?" questioned Kurenai, she knew something was up. "I am interested indeed because I looked at the scouting reports two days ago and not one of them even had the classes I asked for, much less had a chuunin rank. So who may I ask is this person you have selected to team eight?" it was a battle of wits now, and Kurenai did NOT want to get stuck with another guy who couldn't help at all and held back the team. "I have no doubt in my mind that you did, and in doing so checked them all carefully. All... except one. The person I have selected as the fourth for team eight not only fits what you asked for perfectly, but excels what you asked for by a mile. You asked for a decent scout, what you got can rival the Hyuuga's. You asked for a proficient fighter, what you got I would almost rather have as a bodyguard. You asked for a chuunin level genin, what you got is a Jounin level chuunin." Kurenai looked on in disbelief, there was no way she missed someone like THAT! "You asked for a ninja," Tsunade continued. "What you got Kurenai... is Uzumaki Naruto."

Slowly the words hit home in Kurenai's mind. That explained EVERYTHING, the mischievous smile, the sake, the scouting reports, everything. She wasn't just telling her team, she was pretty well asking her to be a guardian of probably the only person she would willingly call family. This was BIG. "Umm... but... I-it's" she fumbled over words in her confusion. "What you don't believe me? See for yourself." Tsunade said as she handed Kurenai the evaluation on Naruto. "No hokage-sama it's not that I do not believe you but this is Naruto we are talking about. You realize that you just placed your could be son in my hands making me his guardian? I have absolutely nothing against Naruto but are you sure it's even right for him to be on a team. I mean with power like he displayed a couple weeks ago shouldn't you or Jiraiya be overseeing his training?" she asked rushed. She had never been in a situation like this before. Mentally Tsunade smacked herself; she should have expected that, she had just asked a Jounin to personally train a possible kage's son. Screwing that up in any other situation could mean death. "Kurenai, i picked your team for a number of reasons, look at your team. One you are down a man and you will have a full team again. But most importantly you have the most level headed team in all of Konoha. every single person on you team truly accepts Naruto without a doubt and is more than willing to be his friends, right now he needs that more than anything. The Naruto you saw in my office earlier today was a mask, a ploy because he knew with your team in the room it was not the time to be straight-forward. The Naruto that walks among us now is cold, devoid of anything that even resembles compassion. It was Konoha that did that to him, I think that if he sees that there are still people in Konoha that care, we might be able to get Naruto back." she finished. Kurenai started to understand and so replied "Yes hokage-sama, may I ask when we should start." "As soon as possible, however there are some... abilities of Naruto's such as his bloodline that need explaining first so you should make yourself comfortable, it going to be a long day." (I won't make you go through the pain of reading abilities again)

Meanwhile Naruto was walking to his apartment. Life was pretty much the same, same old stares, same old hatred, same old hell, but as long as they didn't try anything he could live with it. Only because Tsunade had asked personally however. So he continued walking but he was surprised when a young boy came flying around the corner with an ice cream cone and ran straight into him. Being the bigger one it recoiled on the boy and sent his ice cream flying. The world stopped as people looked on, worried for the little boy, afraid of what the demon might do. Naruto's icy glare snagged as they made eye contact, this was just a kid, he didn't mean any harm. Slowly he bent down and helped the kid up, then gave him a little bit of money. "Go buy yourself another one." he said, he just couldn't help it, he saw too much of himself in the boy. The young boy smiled and his eye's lit up. "Thanks mister." he said as he ran off to his parents. he stood back up to find a killing intent pointed his way.

"You monster, he's trying to bribe the boy!" one villager said as he threw a rock at Naruto. The whole crowd stopped however when the rock reached about 3 feet away from him and burst into flame, disintegrating it before it could do any harm. _Well they asked for it. _He thought as he did some hand seals. "_Shin no ippo"_ suddenly no one in the crowd could move. And Naruto singled out the man who had thrown the rock. "Oh a monster is I? Ha, If you thought I was a monster before, you have no idea what's coming to you." he said as he sent the man a glare that could freeze over hell. "Not so tough now are you, Listen up everyone and listen well, I am NOT the same kid that left all those years ago. That kid wouldn't fight back because he didn't want to hurt anyone, I really don't care. What are a few hundred people here and there huh? Please understand that if you don't mess with me, I got no problem playing the game fairly, which means I'll take your stupid stares and insults muttered under your breath and go along with my day. But the moment you cross the line, I will stack the deck. If anyone EVER attacks me again I assure you will know the true meaning of pain... I'll give you good reason to call me a monster. Unfortunately we already have someone dumb enough to cross that line, and right about now, he'll pay" he said as he pulled out a kunai and walked slowly towards the paralyzed man. If anyone could see his eye's at that moment in time they would have seen that he fully intended to kill the man before him, but suddenly a voice rang out. "NARUTO WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" He whipped around to see Kakashi standing there, kunai at the ready in case he had to interfere. "I'm teaching these nobodies a lesson, I'm tired of sitting back and just letting it happen. I'm taking it into my own hands now." Naruto saw some ANBU arriving and decided to let it pass. He was good, but Kakashi and two ANBU were just two much. "Fine, they aren't worth the energy anyway." He said as he released the jutsu, freeing all but the man who through the rock. "But you my friend" he turned to the man "can find your own way out, I'm sure it's no problem for someone so strong as to attack helpless kids." and with that he vanished.

The paralyzed man was surrounded by ANBU trying to get him out, all failing miserably. "Kakashi-sama" one ANBU asked. "Do you know how to dispel this thing?" Kakashi eyed the man up and down. "Yes I believe I can." _Holy & Naruto where the $#& &$# #$& did you learn a s-classed jutsu?!?! _He thought to himself, that didn't need to be said out loud, there were kids around. But he preformed a couple hand seals and released the man. "Thank you Kakashi-sama, who knows what that demon brat would have done, had you not com..." he found himself unable to finish as Kakashi's hand gripped the mans neck. "If you ever, call that kid a monster again, and I find out about it, you're going to wish he got to you first, and then right after that I'm sure the hokage would like to speak with you. But for now, you are hear-bye charged with treason, attack on a civilian, and assault on a Konoha shinobi. Please expect to be punished to the full extent of the law. ANBU, get him out of my sights."

Kakashi sighed, that move Naruto used would have been far too advanced for anyone else his age. He himself only learned it about a year ago and he was a top ninja!

He was defiantly going to look into this, but he would need Tsunade's opinion first. _I'll have to go back tomorrow. _He thought. _She doesn't take kindly to visitors about now. _Kakashi had tried to walk in about this time a few years ago and found out the hard way that Tsunade's "drinking time" was not to be disturbed.

it was dark as Naruto opened up the door to his apartment, he had gone to train to take his mind off things and now he wanted sleep. Suddenly he whipped a kunai into a darker corner of the room. "What do you want?" he asked the darkness. After a moment a voice came out. "What I want is for you to stop throwing those things, troublesome." Shikamaru said as he stepped out. he had a semi deep gash on his left cheek, even he couldn't get out of the way in time. "Relax Naruto I'm just here to say its good your back, and Tsunade wanted me to give you this." he said as he tossed a small box to Naruto. "Later." his job done he left, he was wasting valuable time doing things that were far too productive when he could be wasting that time altogether. After he left Naruto started to think about the day, the gate, Tsunade's office, that stupid villager. God he wanted to kill him, it would have made him feel so much better. It was so funny; Tsunade and everyone else kept telling him. Oh they'll change, or, there are still people in Konoha that care. And now when he tried to give them another shot, when he tried to forgive them and be kind, it was Konoha themselves who proved Tsunade wrong. He was kind and was treated like dirt. "Oh well," he said to no one. "I won't be making that mistake again." _and the pranks might not be so harmless this time around. _He added in his mind.

Remembering the package he opened it to find a new Konoha headband and a letter, with curiosity he opened the letter.

_To: Uzumaki Naruto._

_Naruto, you are to report to training grounds 3 tomorrow at 8:00 sharp, don't be late. Also, as of now you are the fourth and final member of team 8, Inuzuka Kiba has recently moved to Suna and you are to fill the position. Your teammates will be Aburume Shino and Hyuuga Hinata, your instructor is Yuuhi Kurenai. _

_Tsunade..._

_Wow, Tsunade got that out of the way fast. _He thought as he ran his hand over the new headband. It was shiny and light, that and it didn't have all the scratches his current one had. Maybe it was time for a new one. Slowly he untied his old one and took a good look at it, it was the only thing anyone had ever given him with no strings attached. Hell even Tsunade's necklace he got because of a bet. This was his only gift; he couldn't believe he almost left it in Konoha. Carefully he folded over the cloth, opened one of his scrolls and sealed it away. It may be time for change, but that meant something and he intended to keep it. With haste he put on the new one and fell in the bed, he was tired, and tomorrow looked to be nothing but trouble.

8:00 the next morning...

_Well I'm right on time, but I don't see anybody... wait, there's Kurenai-sensei. _He thought as he looked across the training field. She was pretty far off still and looked to be alone. _Huh, i wonder where Hinata and Shino are. _It didn't matter at the moment as Kurenai had spotted him and was making her way over. _I guess I'll ask her myself._

_"_Hello, Kurenai-san. I was lead to believe that you are to be my instructor and i am to be placed on team 8 correct?" Kurenai looked at the boy and tried to remember what Tsunade had said. _That boy doesn't care if your god, Allah, Jesus and Moses all wrapped in one, if you want his respect, you're going to have to earn it. _Tsunade's words ran through her head. _Remember, normally if he addresses you with a respectful term such as sama or dono, he doesn't give a crap about you... yet. He has a very reverse way of letting you know he respects you, almost as if the only way he will show it is to be disrespectful. I had his respect for a long time, if you remember I used to let him get away with calling me Baa-Chan, it's cause I knew in his way he was being kind. _Her head started to hurt, this was too much to remember, it had been a long night last night and while she still got to bed early, she had learned a lot of thing that night, some she wanted to know, but a great deal more that she didn't. "Yes Naruto, from this point on you are a member of team 8."She said as she pulled herself together. "The may I ask where Hinata-san and Shino-san are?" he said monotone. She could see it, she cold see what Tsunade was talking about in his eyes. "They are waiting at this little dango shop down the road a little ways. We meet there a lot to celebrate after a mission." she relied "To celebrate, I have to say that's something I have not done a lot of in a long while." Kurenai saw his eye's get a far off misty look for a second but decided to live and let live. "Anyway I decided it would be the perfect place to meet and get the introductions out of the way. So follow me, breakfast closes in a hour." she turned and walked away beckoning him to follow.

It was a long silence all the way to the dango shop, Kurenai couldn't think of anything to say. She had learned so much about the boys past last night and knew that though they only scratched the surface, in his place she would have lost it long ago, what do you say to someone like that? Somehow she got the feeling that "Hi, how's it going, hope the villagers haven't tried to kill you lately" wasn't a good ice breaker. Thankfully the shop was coming into view. "Please wait here Naruto, I'll go in and get them." she said as she opened the door. Naruto simply nodded and Kurenai went in to find her team.

It was a joyous atmosphere inside the shop, it had just had its anniversary and peaces of decorations could still be found hanging from the walls and ceiling. It only took a quick look around and she located them in there usual spot. Looking at here team as she walked over she smiled. _I wonder how Hinata is going to take this._ After a few moment of recollection she corrected herself. _I take that back... I already know. _Anything that ever involved Naruto always involved fainting, or getting knock out as the case in the chuunin exams. "Hello Hinata, Shino, good morning." she said, her grin still in place. "G-good morning Kurenai-sensei." Hinata responded. Shino simply nodded his head; it was very Shino-ish to avoid words. "Ano... Why did you ask us to meet h-here? S-shouldn't we be t-training?" Hinata asked. "No, today is a free day, and before you ask why, I'll tell you. I have some very good news to give you, as of 9:30 last night, Team 8 is officially a four man team again." she said with a knowing grin. They had been looking forward to having a full team again for a long time. Then for one of the few times ever Shino's smile was so wide it could be seen above his collar and Hinata damn near forgot she was shy when she jumped out of her seat. "I think the only question left is... who is it?" Shino questioned, apart from the smile that slipped through he was still the same old Shino, sometimes she swore he didn't have any other expressions than that straight face of his.

"You know I can tell you." Kurenai said, prolonging the wait "or I can do you one better and show you. Come on, he's waiting outside." She said as she walked towards the door, beckoning them to follow. With haste the two got up to follow, they wanted to meet their new teammate. As Kurenai opened the door she said. "Hinata, Shino, I would like to introduce you to your new teammate… Uzumaki Naruto." and she moved out of the way to revile Naruto waiting outside. "I guess we are teammates know huh?"

Then and there Hinata did the same thing any respectable girl would do in her situation… she fainted. Luckily Kurenai was expecting that and caught her before she hit the ground. Shino however simply froze for a moment, yes he was surprised, but it made sense when you thought about it. Team 7 was gone and done for, team 8 had an open position that needed filling, and they saw in the Hokage's office that Naruto was being reinstated. When you looked at it from that angle, it was all perfectly logical. Probable, no, Shino was a smart kid and knew that someone was pulling some strings, but right now he would enjoy the moment. "Welcome Naruto, I can't think of anyone I would rather have with me." He said as he held out his hand. Naruto turned his back and started to walk away. "Don't take it personally Shino as you are one of the few who has been nice to me, but I'm not here to care, I'm not here to be friends and I'm not here to have fun, I'm here because I have to be if I want to find my family and that's all. I'll do all the missions and I'll do all the training but I'm here to get stronger, not get close to anyone, I made that mistake one too many times." He said "oh and don't worry, I'll be at the training grounds tomorrow." Then he faded of into the forest of buildings.

"Although I'm already quite sure you don't have one I must see if you have an explanation." Shino said as he turned toward his sensei. "These are interesting developments, and I have only seen Naruto for a couple of minutes. This is not a good sign, while I can see where he may have changed from recent incidents, he looked quite ready to kill us." His eye's narrowed behind his sunglasses. He didn't like to be left out of the loop, especially when lives were left in the hands of unknown variables. He didn't care if they were his superiors, he wanted answers. "Kurenai-sensei…" it was a cold serious voice. "Is there anything else we should know?" Kurenai sighed as she set Hinata safely on the ground, Shino was mad, and he had a right to be. She knew Shino would have the hardest time getting used to Naruto, even when Naruto was Himself all those years ago his actions were… random, at best. While Naruto had become much more consistent the change In character over the last two weeks left Naruto as a possible time bomb. In short, Naruto's very being itself just had too many loopholes for someone like Shino. While the two got along very well, it would take some getting used too. "Yes Shino, there are something's that we need to sit down and talk about, but we should wait until Hinata wakes up."

Meanwhile inside Naruto's mind…

"**Naruto what the hell, I told you to try and make friends. Those are your teammates and I can't exactly say you made a good first impression." **Kyuubi raged on in his mind. **"Friends, Naruto, don't you want too have any friends? You know I normally stay out of your life so don't you think this might be something important…"** "I don't need any friends!" Naruto cut her off, he was so tired of hearing the same speech over and over. "I tried that once remember?!?! Look where it got me. I don't need or want any friends and I sure as hell don't need a mother, so why don't you just back off!!! The words were out of his mouth before he even knew what he said, instantly he regretted them though. He saw the look on Kyuubi's face and he realized what he just said, after all, if there was anyone who still understood him it was her.

"Wait Kyuubi I didn't mean…" **"No your right, after all, I wouldn't want to be a bother." **She said as she did some hand seals. Suddenly Naruto felt himself being pulled down that long hallway and back into the real world. Felling himself back in his own body he cursed. _Damn, no Kyu-chan wait please I just want to say I'm sorry!! _He tried to yell to her in thought. But it was too late as he felt Kyuubi recede in his mind to the point where he almost couldn't even find her. _I have to get this straightened out. _He thought, after all, she was the only person in Konoha he could turn too. It was then he started to do something he hadn't done in a long time… slowly but surely, he started forcing Kyuubi's chakra to the surface…

It seems Naruto has hit a wall, Hinata might be in too deep, and it seems as though the old Naruto might truly still be in there. Find out all this and more, next time.

Peace…

Ghost.

AN: yes, I'm sorry their wasn't much Hinata in this chapter bet there should be a lot in the next so I hope you all can find it too forgive me.


	4. Welcome to team 8

Hello again, Chapter 4 is on the way but first a few things that need to be explained. I am for the fist time writing a fight scene in this and the next chapter and would like to point out some things. First off in the show Jounin is a VERY restricted class where only the BEST OF THE BEST ever reach. In truth a hokage is simply a very high Jounin with leadership abilities and a title to their name. Most Ninja go through there entire a career as chuunin, as such the power of a Jounin is the ultimate power. To a chuunin a Jounin's power is unbelievably high. This is portrayed in this and the next chapter and the reason I say this is because I have seen many stories where the Jounin level is like nothing at all, a milestone that is easily surpassed and not even worth mentioning. Then they jump to 'Kage' level and it seems like a big jump. In reality it's not, there will be higher level powers in this story but I wanted to point out that people like Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Ibiki, Anko, and Gai are sometimes undercut and portrayed as powerful but not that much. That should about wrap it up, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

Naruto: Damn right you don't own me!!

(Crash) Author steps over unconscious Naruto.

Author: like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted I do not own Naruto and never will. Enjoy 

LAST TIME…

"_**Naruto what the hell, I told you to try and make friends. Those are your teammates and I can't exactly say you made a good first impression." **Kyuubi raged on in his mind. **"Friends, Naruto, don't you want too have any friends? You know I normally stay out of your life so don't you think this might be something important…"** "I don't need any friends!" Naruto cut her off, he was so tired of hearing the same speech over and over. "I tried that once remember?!?! Look where it got me. I don't need or want any friends and I sure as hell don't need a mother, so why don't you just back off!!! The words were out of his mouth before he even knew what he said, instantly he regretted them though. He saw the look on Kyuubi's face and he realized what he just said, after all, if there was anyone who still understood him it was her. _

"_Wait Kyuubi I didn't mean…" **"No your right, after all, I wouldn't want to be a bother." **She said as she did some hand seals. Suddenly Naruto felt himself being pulled down that long hallway and back into the real world. Felling himself back in his own body he cursed. "Damn, no Kyu-chan wait please I just want to say I'm sorry!!" He tried to yell to her in thought. But it was too late as he felt Kyuubi recede in his mind to the point where he almost couldn't even find her." I have to get this straightened out." He thought, after all, she was the only person in Konoha he could turn too. It was then he started to do something he hadn't done in a long time… slowly but surely, he started forcing Kyuubi's chakra to the surface… _

It was then he started to do something he hadn't done in a long time… slowly but surely, he started forcing Kyuubi's chakra to the surface. He knew very well that this was this was about to cause hell, so quickly he teleported himself to the woods. The entire village of Konoha didn't need to think the Kyuubi was back. Landing in the woods by a stream he set back to work, this was going to take a lot out of him. It was a slow process but he could feel Kyuubi getting forced into the real world, it would have been a lot easier if Kyuubi wasn't fighting back. Suddenly he opened his eyes to see the blood red stare of Kyuubi looking back. Hastily he put up a guard, she was pissed! He also knew that even with all his power he was still a play toy if she really wanted to hurt him, and while she couldn't kill him, she could easily beat him to within an inch of his life.

"What do you want, and it better be damn good." She said in a cold voice with her chakra flaring to insane levels. She recoiled a little however when she saw Naruto drop his guard, if she wanted to hurt him now it would be all too easy. _He just wanted to talk. _She realized. She snapped to when she heard him speak.

"Stop, please and just listen for a moment." It wasn't a pleading voice, but it was one of worry and concern. "All I'm asking is that you listen to my side of the story, and then if you want to be alone I understand." Seeing Kyuubi nod he continued. "I really can't understand how you can keep telling me to make friends, especially since you were with me the last time around. In case you don't remember only one person has ever admitted me to be his friend, Uchiha Sasuke. Then my ONLY friend proceeded to run a chidori through my heart. Personal experience tells me that friends get you nowhere but trouble, you can't argue with Numbers and you can't argue with results. All I'm saying is I tried, and it almost got me killed, but I'm willing to try again, that doesn't mean ill like it, but I will."

Kyuubi knew the look on his face; there were two sides to this. "And what do you want from me?"

"Nothing" he replied shocking the Kyuubi. "All I ask is that you forgive me, one way or another you're still the only person I can turn to, I know what I said back there was stupid and I'm sorry, please."

Kyuubi broke into a smile, "You really need to ask kit? Well your long forgiven, now go talk to your team and see if you cant mend the fence a little bit." She said waving him off, her part of Tsunade's deal was done. She got him back into the system; it was there job to do the rest. "oh and Naruto"

"Yeah." He replied

"I'm going to talk to Tsunade Okay."

"Yeah, you promise you won't hurt anyone?" he asked

"Yes"

"And you won't break anything?"

"Yes"

"Alright, Hold on." He said as he started doing some hand seals, this did tend to get annoying, he understood that as the jailer of the Kyuubi she had to have his permission to leave in an actual body, but he trusted Kyuubi with his life, all this permission asking was starting to get old. Finishing the seals he gave Kyuubi a temporary body and waved her off.

"Oh and Kyuubi" he said before she disappeared. "Thanks." That done he left, part of her terms were he try to mend the fence with his team.

_Oh yes, _Kyuubi thought _the old Naruto is still there. _With that thought she made for the tower, she had to inform Tsunade.

(Tsunade's Office)

"Yes Kakashi, you have my approval, on the conditions that Kurenai Refs and no Jutsu are above A-rank" Tsunade said. It wasn't the best way, but they needed a better estiment of Naruto's level.

As the door to the office opened both turned to see who it was, Kakashi was instantly impressed, and very expressive.

"Hello baby, and just what might your name be." He said as he started over to the door to 'escort' the lady in.

"Kakashi!" Tsunade yelled. Said man turned to see a hokage that was completely ready to kill him, revive him, and THEN demote him to genin. Needless to say he stopped his attempt to 'put the moves' on the strange woman.

He thanked Tsunade silently when he felt a killer intent from the woman; she would have killed him before he got close. "Um I think I'll be going now." He said as he ran out the door feeling his welcome worn out.

"Kyuubi-sama, Pleasure to see you again, you'll have to forgive Kakashi, I'm afraid the Itchy Itchy Paradise series got to him. Although I have to say that you looked quite ready to kill him, isn't that breaking Naruto's rules." She said with a grin, inside she was really hoping she wasn't offended by Kakashi. She was another one of those people you really didn't want to be enemies with.

"Please, Tsunade-sama cut with the pleasantries, we are not that friendly." Kyuubi said as she sat down opposite of Tsunade. "And as for killing Kakashi Naruto and I made a deal that Perverts are an exception to the rules." She let out a faint chuckle "In case your old teammate ever got brave… or drunk."

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh as an image of a chibi Kyuubi beating the crap out of a chibi Jiraiya entered her mind… what it was funny. "Sorry, what is it you are here for?"

"Our deal" She responded. "Naruto is at least going to give this team a shot, so I did my part; I'm here to hand it over to you. I do want to ask though; do you think you found what it was that got to Naruto before?"

Tsunade smiled "Nope I know. What got to Naruto every single time was a girl by the name of Hyuuga…"

"Hinata." Kyuubi finished for her. "You must be crazy; do you really think it's her? Everything I've come to know about Hinata doesn't back you up. She's shy, she's unconfident, Naruto never even really knew her, all I'm saying is are you sure."

Without a second thought Tsunade replied "yes, I'm dead sure. He backed her up in the Chuunin exams and she calmed him down two weeks ago, I know it's her."

"Alright," Kyuubi replied "This is your show as of right now so I wont interfere, but do realize that you just put one of the most Important matters to ever cross your desk into the hands of a love struck 16 year old girl." Tsunade nodded her head uncertainly, she hadn't looked at it like that before, but never the less, it was the best plan they had. Seeing the confidence return to Tsunade's face, she turned and walked towards the door. _Tsunade, I truly hope you're a better gambler than the kit gives you credit for._

(Inside the dango shop.)

Hinata and Shino sat on one side of the booth with Kurenai on the other. No one was particularly enjoying the conversation. Kurenai was telling them about Naruto's bloodline… and past. Tsunade had asked that everything they had talked about be heard by the two, Kurenai had had trouble coping with it, and she could only imagine what it was like for her students.

"So as far as His bloodline goes we need to watch his eye's correct, and the basic function is not far off of the beakugan." There was a little bit of sadness in Shino's voice, it was another one of those rare times you saw an Aburume with expressions.

"That's right Shino." She said as she looked over to Hinata. The poor girl was almost in tears, but she expected that, Hell she was almost in tears. Suddenly a fight broke out near the door.

"Get out of here demon, Nobody wants you, just go away and di…" he never got a chance to finish before he found himself crashing through a window.

"Well I warned him, anybody else brave?" another voice said. Slowly the crowd around the front door started to back away, all but one foolish chuunin.

"Brave, ha, my grandmother is stronger than you. Your mother was probably a bitch, and your father probably lives in a card board box you worthless demon."

_Oh, shit if its Naruto at the door someone is about to die. _She though as she ran towards the front.

"You should watch your tongue human, especially when you have no idea what you're dealing with." It was a demonic voice now, the voice of a mad man. "Too late though, you're already dead." He said as he threw a kunai. It was fast, no one in the room even knew he threw it except Kurenai.

"No Naruto" she said as she jumped in, no one saw it happen, but they all stood in awe as Kurenai caught the kunai mere millimeters from the mans throat. Slowly she stood up. "Naruto, there are better ways of dealing with people." she said, everyone else in the room was forgotten. Had she not been there, there would be a man that was dead before he even knew he was being attacked. "Hinata, Shino, Naruto, Lets go." All three complied, Shino and Hinata however, with a little more urgency.

When the three were outside Kurenai collected her thoughts, and then went off. "Naruto I know for a fact that you're smarter than to make decisions like that, I want you to tell me honestly, you realize if I wasn't there that man would be dead right?"

By this point Hinata and Shino went and stood alone, this was between those two. "Yes, I do Kurenai-_Sensei _but I gave them fair warning, they crossed the line, not me." Naruto said, he had no problem killing that man, he didn't WANT to kill anybody, but he did what he had to do. "I said it before, I'll take all there threats but if they start talking about my parents, they die, short, sweet, to the point."

"Ok, Look Naruto, no more, ok. I'm glad you came back as there was something I wanted to do today." She said as she waved over Hinata and Shino. "But never do that again, all you're doing is sinking to there level. Oh well, it's behind us, Come on everybody, let's go sit down."

They all took the short walk to the park and sat down on the benches, where Kurenai set it off. "Ok so you pretty well know each other but just in case, were going to do what we did when you were first assigned to your teams. We are going to go around the circle and tell your name, your likes, your dislikes, your dreams, and anything else you would like to share. Shino lets start with you."

"Very well" Shino replied as he adjusted his glasses. "My name is Aburume Shino, I like days where the sun is out and I can relax, I also like to converse with the colonies. I like structure and sense, and I like things that are done right. My dislikes include loopholes, variables, almost anything left up to chance. My dreams are to one day be an elite black ops like my father, Shibi.

Kurenai-sensei I think ill pass it back to you."

"Thank you Shino." She started off. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai; I am a genjutsu specialist and take pride in my mastery of the art. I like mind games, I am a true believer that the strongest ninja doesn't always win. I hate arrogance, too many people that could be truly great fall into that trap.

As for my dreams, when I get enough money I plan to retire, live a peaceful life. I hope to get married someday, but being that much stronger than most guys tends to through that off. Word of advice, especially to you Hinata, once your as strong as we are, love is pretty well limited to other ninja, everyone else is afraid of you. I think I'll pass it off to Hinata."

"A-ano… o-ok."_ Pull it together Hinata Naruto is watching. _"M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata, I am the c-current heir to the Hyuuga h-house. I-I like to hang out w-with Shino and s-study medical j-jutsu. I don't like people who judge books by there cover, and punish others for things they had no control over." Everyone was surprised, that last sentence had come out not only without stuttering, but with force. "W-when I get older I would l-like to become a g-great medic like Tsunade, a-and I w-would v-very much like to m-marry a c-certain s-someone. G-go a-ahead N-Naruto." She was praying to god she wasn't as red as she thought she was… and just like clockwork, she got her answer.

"Hinata are you ok, you look a little red." Kurenai said, she looked towards Shino to find a disapproving glare. But she couldn't help it; some times the opportunity was just too good. Mean while Hinata went through two more shades of red.

Seeing Kurenai on the edge of laughter he decided to step in. "I guess that must be an inside joke, anyway, my name Is Uzumaki Naruto, my nicknames and aliases are far too many, and up until recently I have been the disciple of Jiraiya-sensei. The things I truly like are few and far between. I hate Konoha, and for the most part the people in it, the present company all being exceptions." Kurenai watched as his eyes grew misty again. "My dreams… I gave up on my dreams, that is a luxury people like me are restricted from. As for some things about me, well, I don't know how good of a replacement I'll be for Kiba, but I'm sure as hell going to try, and I want you to know that I still care about everyone on this team, and I'll be right there with you, no matter how thick it gets."

They all just sat there for a minute, trying to understand what was just said, until Hinata broke the silence. "B-but N-Naruto, what about y-your dream to b-become h-hokage." She asked. By now they could all see the sadness in his eyes.

"Gone, a long time ago I got smart. The only reason I wanted to be hokage was because I wanted the respect of the village, but I've come to accept that I won't ever be accepted, I learned it, and I moved on. That is why I am willing to stay in Konoha and be a ninja, for those few kind enough to at least acknowledge me. People don't really love demons, it's like what Kurenai-sensei said about love, certain characteristics lower the field, this one just depleted it. My name, my bloodline, and the legacy of the boy that 'should have been killed the day he was born.' Will all end with me. It's just another one of those things I've accepted, for now I fight to rid the path of enemies so that it may be that much safer for those few friends I have." He finished as he put up a fake smile, the rest of the world didn't need to worry over him. Not that they would, but Hinata looked on the verge of tears and Shino's head had fallen into his jacket, perhaps he had been a little too truthful, but they were his teammates, you can't have secrets from your teammates.

Thankfully the moment broke as Kakashi entered. "Yo, what's up everybody, Kurenai can I talk to you for a moment?" He said with a smile.

"Rough timing Kakashi, but whatever you have to say, out with it." She replied as she stood up

"Umm, ok, I have permission from the hokage here for a level spar." He said.

"Hey, Shino, Hinata, pay attention, if Kurenai accepts we are in for one hell of a show." Naruto said quietly to the others.

"I don't get it, what's a level spar?" Shino asked

"A Level spar, Shino, is a spar much like the chuunin exams, no holding back and aim to kill if you have to; they are often used to choose Black ops leaders and other positions of the sort. They are also quite dangerous though. Kakashi, Gui, and I do what we acknowledge as a level spar all the time however so between the three of us we are pretty safe. They also require a referee." Kurenai cut in. "What is the jutsu level on this one Kakashi?"

"Tsunade said that this is to stay at and below A-rank jutsu." He replied calmly, Very Kakashi-ish.

"Very well I accept," Kurenai said. "I think it will be good for the kids to see the next level."

"Umm, that's nice Kurenai, but your actually supposed to be the ref." he said as he put away his book. "The person I'm supposed to be fighting is him."

Everyone looked to where the masked Jounin was pointing. "Wait, Naruto?" Kurenai said in surprise. "No, no absolutely…"

"I accept." Naruto said as he stepped forward. "And don't worry about me Kurenai-sensei, have a little faith."

Meanwhile Shino and Hinata's Jaws hit the ground, they were pretty sure Naruto just accepted a no holds fight with a Jounin, where the LIMIT was A-rank jutsu. They could both go at Kurenai at once and have there butts handed to them, and they didn't even know about any A-rank jutsu, much less be able to perform them. Slowly Hinata gathered her head. "B-be safe N-Naruto." Was all she could get out. Shino just stood in disbelief.

Finally Kurenai swayed. "Fine, but understand Kakashi that I'm going to be VERY strict with this one, I don't want Naruto getting hurt."

"I really am touched you care Kurenai-sensei." Naruto smiled at Kakashi. "But you shouldn't underestimate me. And you might want to uncover your Eye Kakashi, your going to need it." He said as his own eyes fell to crosshairs.

_Next time: the battle with Kakashi begins, and where exactly does Hinata fall in this plan of Tsunade's._

_AN: I have two questions or more like polls. First, I tried to write this one with more spacing and smaller paragraphs, if you like this better TELL ME. Other wise I am going to go back to writing the longer paragraphs._

_Second: I am thinking about bringing Sakura back into the story, do you think this is a good or bad idea, one with the most votes wins. _

_Ghost…_


	5. The first test: Kakashi VS Naruto

OPENING / DISCLAIMER-E-THINGY

Welcome one and all who read this story, welcome. There is more story ahead so I'll not keep you waiting, but first there is the itty-bitty teeny-tiny very small matter of the disclaimer where I tell you all that I don't own Naruto, big surprise there huh? I know it got me too, any way on with the show.

(Last time)

"_I really am touched you care Kurenai-sensei." Naruto smiled at Kakashi. "But you shouldn't underestimate me. And you might want to uncover your Eye Kakashi, your going to need it." He said as his own eyes fell to crosshairs._

"Just be careful, no one needs to get seriously hurt." Kurenai said as she walked in between the two. "Ready, begin."

There was no quick off the line here, for the first 10 seconds they just stood, sizing each other up. To them it felt like an eternity, both looking for a sure way to defeat there opponent, and currently, both were unable to find one.

Suddenly Kakashi ran at Naruto. _Shit _He thought as he avoided Kakashi'sfoot, jumping back he let fly a few shuriken and did some hand seals. "Shadow clone shuriken jutsu." He yelled as the two projectiles multiplied in midair. Right as they hit however, Naruto herd a dull thud and saw a log fall to the ground where Kakashi once was. _Where did he go? _He asked himself_, wait, below. _He jumped out of the way just in time to Miss Kakashi's hand grabbing for his ankle. The two instantly jumped apart and started to do hand sighs. Lots of hand sings.

"Well that was a nice warm up don't you think Kakashi?"

"Yes it was, but I think the time for games are over, so what say we kick it up another level?" Suddenly his chakra jumped and everyone there could feel the power coming off the Man.

"I was wondering when we were going to get started." He replied, His power level increasing to match Kakashi. Both finished there hand seals but Naruto was the first to get it off.

"Great spiral jutsu." He yelled as he released a horizontal mini tornado at Kakashi like a bullet from a gun

Kakashi jumped to the side just as the shot came flying by his head. Missing by mere inches, that attack was fast, far faster than Kakashi would have expected, and true to his bloodline Naruto's aim was dead on Kakashi's jugular. For a moment Kakashi stood. _If that was a vortex I should have felt some wind off of it, why didn't I? _He turned and watched the attack go through a few trees and figured it out, _I see, it takes all that energy and focuses it on the tip of the vortex._ He followed as the attack hit a boulder and exploded, leaving a ten foot crater. Kakashi paled_, well I set it at A-rank jutsu, let's try not to get hit with that._

Naruto stood, waiting for Kakashi to release his jutsu. Oddly, it never came. _I must have cut short his hand signs. _He concluded.

Unknown to Naruto Kakashi's jutsu had been completed and the energy wave sent off by his attack had disguised the release. If you weren't watching Kakashi's eye, you would almost never know when he cast a jutsu, he wasn't a jounin for no good reason. _Good now lets make this a hand to hand battle. _The masked jounin thought, "I hope your ready Naruto. This starts NOW." He said as he charged in with a punch.

Naruto dropped to avoid the punch and tried to sweep out Kakashi's legs to no avail, Kakashi saw it coming and jumped just enough to clear the attack and sent a kick towards Naruto's head. Naruto rolled out of the way and jumped back, pulling a scroll off his leg.

"Summon" he yelled as his sword appeared out of thin air and the scroll hit the ground abandoned. Strapping the sheath to his waist he pulled out the sword, it was far grander than any had imagined and the ninja on the sidelines could only stare. The handle was beautiful, but the blade, there was no blade… yet. Even Kakashi was impressed when Naruto forced chakra into the handle making a chakra blade extend, much like what Asuma does with his knives. The show went on further as they watched the chakra blade… crystallize. It hardened in seconds and the end result was a perfectly crafted katana that looked to be made of diamond.

"Naruto, is that…" "I'll explain later" Naruto cut him off, "For now just know that it was a gift and that it is very real, if you don't mind however, I believe we have a fight to get back too." He stated as he got into his stance.

Kakashi nodded in agreement and whipped out a pair of kunai, they didn't look quite as pretty, but anyone who thought they weren't just as deadly was a fool, especially in the hands of someone like Kakashi.

_Damn I need to get this over with._ Though Kakashi, the heavy use of the Sharingan was already starting to wear him out.

Forcing chakra into there bodies the two took off. The battle speed was intense, Attack dodge, block, attack, block, counter, block, attack, attack, block, attack, counter. There were no breaks in the fight whatsoever, here all you could do was react, if you stopped to think you died, that was how it was with kinjutsu at those speeds.

From the sideline the fight was surreal, Hinata felt as if this level of power didn't, shouldn't, exist. But here it was, she was seeing it with her own eyes, well sort of. At there level Hinata and Shino were looking at glimpses of blurs. They couldn't even tell which one was which.

To Kurenai however it was all to clear. _There fast, at least here, they would leave me in the dust, there is no way I could keep up with there agility, and there only getting faster. _She thought as the fight raged on. She also had trouble believing that Kakashi thought this battle tough enough to use her jutsu, a genjutsu she had created for him personally as thanks, the only other two in the world that could do it were the remaining uchihas, you guessed it, sharingan required. It was one of Kakashi's ace's and In all fairness it should have been a s-rank jutsu, considering it required four different levels of illusions, but the board put it as a high a-rank due to its inability to physically cause damage.

For a mere second the two split apart, and each set for a running attack. _Hah, got you Kakashi._ Naruto thought as they took off. This time Naruto was just faster. _It's about time somebody got a hit._ He thought as he felt his sword nick a two inch gash in Kakashi's arm. The two passed each other with all other attacks missing.

"What do you think? First hit goes to Naruto." He said trying to psyche Kakashi out.

"Really" the masked jounin replied calmly. "I didn't know I got hit. Where?" he asked as he looked around his body.

"Right there in your ar…" he stopped talking when he saw Kakashi's arm, not only was there no wound, his shirt hadn't even been cut._ There's no way, I would bet my life I hit him. _In confusion he looked down at his sword, spotless, not a speck on blood on it, it looked like it had just been cleaned not just put through a person's body.

"like I told you before, you did not hit me." Kakashi said, and then he charged back in with Naruto.

For the next ten minutes all it was, was blurs, the people on the sidelines had to watch out for stray jutsu sometimes but if it wasn't a no holds fight a minute ago it most defiantly was now. Time and time again Naruto swore he hit Kakashi with a slash, punch, or fireball only to turn around and see Kakashi completely free of any cuts, bruises, or burns, and it was starting to get to his head. By this time Kakashi too had gotten in a few good hits but still looked unscathed, it was obvious however that he was wearing out, his speed was starting to drop off and Naruto still barely broke a sweat.

Naruto though was impossibly frustrated with his inability to hit Kakashi and rage was blinding him to some of the most obvious things. Jumping away the two charged what would be there last true attacks of the day. Kakashi, Chidori, Naruto, Raengasen.

The two charged but the attacks never met, Naruto used his other hand to push Kakashi's attack to the side and rammed his attack into Kakashi's chest. _Finally it's over, I know that one hit. _He thought in silent victory. He was dragged back into reality when he heard 'Kakashi' poof and felt the cold steel of a kunai to his neck.

"MATCH" they heard Kurenai yell, "WINNER, Kakashi." Silently Naruto cursed himself, how on earth could he have missed such a simple jutsu as the shadow clone. But Kakashi beat him, fair and square.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Naruto." Kakashi spoke. You went up against someone with far more years of practice and not only held your own but almost won." _you have no idea how close you actually were kid. _He added in his mind.

They both put away there respective weapons and for the first time in a long time, they shook each others hand, and they smiled.

"Naruto" Kurenai cut in. "I want you, Hinata and Shino to go to our usual training field now. There are a couple of things I need to talk about with Kakashi in private. Hinata, when you get there I also want you to heal up Naruto, they both took a beating in that one." A chorus of "Hai, sensei's" rang out as the three started to leave, Shino helping Naruto since the adrenaline was starting to wear off and Kyuubi wasn't back yet to do any healing.

As soon as they had gone Kurenai rushed to Kakashi's side just as he started falling. For the first time in twenty minutes Kakashi's Sharingan stopped spinning as he passed out. Catching Kakashi on his way to the ground Kurenai watched as the genjutsu around his body dispelled and slowly his injuries became apparent.

'Beat up' was the understatement of the year. Kakashi was totally drained of chakra and there was not a square foot on the mans body that didn't have a gash or a bruise. He had numerous broken bones, his clothes were torn to the point of indecency, and he was suffering from massive blood loss. He was in no danger of dieing, but Naruto did something not many people could do, thought he lost, if so much as a genin came along after that Kakashi would not have been able to hold his own. And while Naruto was very injured, he still had the means to protect himself or run away.

Only one thought ran through Kurenai's mind. _Naruto Uzumaki huh? You are truly something else. Good choice Hinata. _With a few hand signs and a swirl of leaves she teleported off to the Hospital, Tsunade would want to see (and heal) this herself.

(Meanwhile)

"I must admit Naruto, for a time there I was quite sure the only explanation was you had gone crazy. Not often do I find myself pleased to be proven wrong. You are truly something to have that much power at our age, I new you were strong, and I know you were powerful, but your control and speed is amazing." Noticing they had arrived Shino set Naruto down. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you obtain such power?" He asked.

"No I don't mind" Naruto replied "But there are certain things about my life that I would rather leave unsaid." His eyes froze over. "for now just know that it cost me a price, one I would have never been willing to give, if you ever found yourself in my position, I would consider you a fool if you had the choice and took the power. I still consider myself a fool and I had no choice. But thank you for the complement; I don't tend to get those often." Shino nodded and looked Naruto up and down, he was pretty beat up, but then again he did just get out of a fight.

"It looks like you have a couple of broken ribs, a broken wrist and a fractured leg but other than that, just cuts…" He paused for a moment as he looked at a three inch gash in Naruto's shoulder. "And bruises." He finished.

"Just wait here and I'll go get Hinata; she may not be Tsunade-sama or Shinzune-sama, but she knows her stuff when it comes to medical issues." He said as he stood up and walked back to the edge of the woods where Hinata was waiting.

"He's pretty beat up but nothing you can't handle Hinata." He said as he arrived. "A-are you s-sure, I-I mean I wouldn't want to m-mess u-up and h-hurt N-Naruto."

"Your doubt it both unwise and unnecessary, you've healed worse injuries on me, besides if you truly care about him I doubt your going to get a much better time to be alone with him. This one was an order after all." He said pushing her forward, "And you might want to start on his shoulder, to me that seemed to be the most threatening injury."

Wit a little coaxing and more than a few small threats Shino was finally able to get Hinata over to where Naruto was sitting.

"A-ano Hey N-Naruto." She said as she nervously sat down beside him "Oh my gosh N-Naruto y-your shoulder, I c-can't heal that I 'm not t-that g-good…" She stopped when Naruto held up his hand.

"You know Hinata; I have to say I think you can. Shino assured me that I didn't want anybody else healing me but you, and that you could do this in your sleep. You aren't going to make Shino a liar are you; I don't think Shino likes being wrong." He said with a smile, on of the few true ones he ever actually had. He knew very well about Hinata's confidence and hoped a shameless joke would break the ice.

Luck was on his side and breaks the Ice it did, soon Hinata got to work on his shoulder.

Back at the woods Shino was waiting when he felt his warning bug returned. Quickly and quietly it delivered its message and Shino turned around to the woods and spoke. "You can come out anytime you feel it appropriate." he said to the woods. Sure as he was told a voice answered back as a black haired woman stepped from the woods.

"You're quite astute for your age Abarume, much like your father and mother." She said as she stopped beside him.

"It's obvious you know about me, perhaps you would be kind enough to incite the introductions, or perhaps your not one to be know." His eye's narrowed behind his glasses, she had only been friendly so far but she was still unknown. Not that it would matter much, she was way out of his league but if she was a threat he could warn the others.

"She really does love him doesn't she?" she asked while staring at the two, "Oh yes I almost forgot, Kyuubi." She said as she held out her hand.

Needless to say Shino took a step back. "I'm told you're trustworthy, an ally for the time, but I have to ask how I know." He said as he took up a fighting stance.

"Calm down kid," Kyuubi replied. "Don't hurt yourself. Although you do present an excellent question. I wouldn't call myself trust worthy, but had I any malicious intent do you really think you or your teammates would still be alive?" She said calmly.

Shino thought for a moment and then dropped his guard. "If you really are the Kyuubi, why aren't you over there healing Naruto?"

"Hinata is Why" she replied without missing a beat. "That girl needs all the help she can get to reach that kid. And I don't think cupids helping with this one."

Shino nodded his head in agreement. "That or his aim is appalling."

(Meanwhile)

"A-ano N-Naruto-kun" She spoke as she pushed a little chakra into his shoulder wound.

"Yea Hinata, what is it?"

"Well, c-can I a-ask you s-something that m-might b-be p-personal?" seeing Naruto nod his head she continued "Y-you see Kurenai-sensei t-told us about y-your past"

"No she didn't," he interuppted "yes I know about everything that Kurenai told you because she learned it from Tsunade-sama, and Tsunade-sama doesn't know a third of it. The only two beings that know everything about what happened in the past are myself and Kyuubi. Hell there are some things in my memories I've locked up so tight I probably can't remember them." His eyes steeled over and he stood up.

"W-wait Naruto I-I'm not d-done yet." Hinata said, afraid she had upset Naruto.

"Let's just cut straight to the point of this whole conversation shall we. You want to know why it was your birthday I remembered right?"

Hinata simply shook her head in response.

"Hinata, there are things about me that nobody knows, things better left unsaid, forgotten in time. Someday maybe I'll tell you, but today is not that day." He turned his head to over where Shino was standing. "Well it took you long enough." He said to Kyuubi. "What did you stop for coffee?"

"No, no I just had some time and got quite well acquainted with your teammate." She said as she walked over to the two. "Oh and Hinata, the hokage is probably going to want you in her office soon. Just a heads up." She said as she started to fade frm view and reenter Naruto. Suddenly all of the remaining injuries started to heal themselves.

"Thank you Hinata." Naruto said. "It would have been a pain to sit there and wait for Kyuubi to heal me, your medic jutsu are most impressive, it seems Shino is an excellent judge of talent."

True too Kyuubi's word right that moment a chuunin came in and bowed to the three.

"Hinata-sama, your presence is requested by the hokage immediately." He said and then he left.

"A-ano, s-sorry guys I g-guess I have t-to g-go." Hinata said as she started to walk away, after all, you didn't keep a hokage waiting.

"Were going to head home" Shino said. "We will see you tomorrow at training."

(at the hospital)

Kurenai had left saying she had something to do, and Tsunade had just finished on Kakashi. His body was fine now, but there was nothing she could do about the chakra exhaustion. _Crap _thought Tsunade as she looked at her watch _I have to go meet Hinata. _Suddenly Kakashi stured a little and slowly sat up.

"Freak im tired, do you know where my book is?" He asked absentmindedly.

"You know Kakashi, you could thank me for healing you, you could get some sleep, you could ask if I would thank Kurenai for dragging you ass here. But all you can think about is that damn book of yours." She said shaking her head, but reluctantly she tossed him the book.

"Kurenai told me about the fight, but I have to hear it from you. Did Naruto really do that."

"That and more" he said truthfully as he put down his book. "Had it not been for my experience and Kurenai's jutsu. The out come of that battle would have been different. I learned four jutsu today I didn't even know existed, all of which A-rank. He isn't quite as fast as me but he can shoot off attacks like there's no tomorrow. I honestly can't tell you much more than that, had I taken the time to study him I would have lost." He said in a serious voice.

"Thanks Kakashi, get some rest." She said as she turned out the lights.

"Oh and Tsunade," He said quickly "that's one hell of a kid."

_Like BLAM, first fight scene complete, come now you all tell me what you think now ok? Don't be shy darling; all criticism is welcome with open arms. Any who the readers firmly stated that this story was to be continued being written in smaller paragraphs and so it shall be. However, the standings for the sakura pole stand as follows._

_4 yes _

_3 no _

_Now review people a story isn't any good without reviews. You see the button there, and you say to yourself, I want to review. And then you do so and it makes me happy. _

_Later._

_Ghost... _


	6. Moissinite

Hello everyone, Ghost here for your prestory news, bob, My co-anchor will be helping us tonight. Anyways it good to see you here because that means you are reading my story, that makes me happy, and I like being happy. Bob.

Right, in other news, Ghost does not own Naruto and a major fight broke out last chapter, im interested in that particular item and am wondering when we might get to see a mission. I think I have to send it over to weather, with everyone favorite weatherman, Tim. Tim, tell us what you have.

Ok, so it seems like a bit of sunlight we might be seeing In Naruto's character at this point, but I see a little rain coming before we really hit clear weather. Ghost.

Thank you Tim, that about wraps up for this times prestory news, enjoy the story everyone, and goodnight. (Fade away news music)

----------------------------------------

(Last time)

_Kurenai had left saying she had something to do, and Tsunade had just finished on Kakashi. His body was fine now, but there was nothing she could do about the chakra exhaustion. Crap thought Tsunade as she looked at her watch I have to go meet Hinata. Suddenly Kakashi stirred a little and slowly sat up. _

"_Freak im tired; do you know where my book is?" He asked absentmindedly. _

"_You now Kakashi, you could thank me for healing you, you could get some sleep, you could ask if I would thank Kurenai for dragging you ass here, But all you can think about is that damn book of yours." She said shaking her head, but reluctantly she tossed him the book._

"_Kurenai told me about the fight, but I have to hear it from you. Did Naruto really do that?"_

"_That and more" he said truthfully as he put down his book. Had it not been for my experience and Kurenai's jutsu. The out come of that battle would have been different. I learned four jutsu today I didn't even know existed, all of which A-rank. He isn't quite as fast as me but he can shoot of attacks like there's no tomorrow. I honestly can't tell you much more than that, had I taken the time to study him I would have lost." He said in a serious voice._

"_Thanks Kakashi, get some rest." She said as she turned out the lights._

"_Oh and Tsunade," He said quickly "that's one hell of a kid."_

(About that time elsewhere in Konoha)

Kurenai had just left Kakashi with Tsunade and now she had an errand, It was getting late however and she wanted to do this today. Rounding the corner she found herself standing it front of the Hikari's home. (Ten Ten's family, I don't know there name for sure so if you do tell me and ill change it.) It was a beautiful place, Mrs. Hikari took pride in her home, it wasn't a big place but it was amazingly well kept up. It looked like a house from Kyoto in the Tokagaowa era. It was a shame it was so far off the main street, it was rare people came this way.

With haste she stepped up and knocked on the door. After a few moments the door slid open to reveal Tenten.

"Hello Kurenai, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Not Much Tenten. Is your father at home, I just need to talk to him for a second." Kurenai replied.

"Yeah, I'll go get him" She said "Come on in."

Kurenai stepped inside the door and waited while Tenten went into the living room.

"Father" she said as she approached the man.

"yes Tenten." He replied.

"Kurenai-sama is at the door for you."

"Ok, thank you." He said as he got up from his chair. He was a big man; he stood 6' 6' and had eyes that one could call moonlight gray. He had a beard and he kept his hair short, contrary to his daughter he had a very Japanese style about him. He was a weapons expert like is Daughter and wife, but that was where they went off. The girls tended to rely on many weapons and intricate attacks; He could through one shuruken through a concrete wall, not at a concrete wall mind you, through it. He also specialized in designing weapons. Stepping Through the door he saw and Greeted Kurenai.

"Hello Kurenai, it's been a long time." He said. "Come sit down."

"Actually I was wondering if you had someplace a little more... private, we could talk." She asked in a serious voice.

"That important huh, very well, we can talk in my study." He said as he waved her along.

Kurenai complied and followed the man through a few doors until they found themselves in a semi large circular room. The room itself was mostly average, what set it apart was the blueprints and designs that had almost become wallpaper for the room, there were so many, all of which designs for some new weapon. Mr. Hikari was a true genius at this and had designed some of the weapons that were now used widely. Sitting down in a chair he urged Kurenai to do the same.

"So what is it you want to talk about Kurenai?" He asked.

"Well, I want to get straight to the point here, I have a student that has some serious potential, and a blood line that makes weaponry one of his ideal attacks…" she paused and watched as Mr. Hikari picked up the situation.

"And you want me to train the kid." He said looking her right in the eyes. "No. you know that I wont ever train another student in my life" he said, his voice getting angrier. "You know that and still you come here, after my last fiasco there is no way I'll never train anyone other than my own daughter." He said as he broke eye contact "now I would appreciate it if you leave." He said.

Kurenai had expected this and knew she was asking something she would never normally ask, but these weren't normal times. "The kid made Moissinite, Taketsu" she said for the first time addressing him by his first name.

Suddenly the mans head shot up like a bullet, "You mean _the_ Moissinite?" he said "for sure… you saw it." To anyone who knew the man knew that at the age of twenty two he heard a story about a man that could recreate a diamond like substance by crystallizing his chakra. But it had never been proven. Since that day Moissinite had become his life

long obsession. Not only would you have a weapon that would never dull, break, or warp during battle, but the crystal structure would make it possible to balance a weapon on the molecular levels, something that could open up a whole new world in throwing weapons.

Over the last thirty-some years even he had lost track of the times he had tried and failed to create Moissinite. He, like Asuma and now Naruto had the ability to create a chakra blade, but even Asuma couldn't harden it and he was the best in the leaf.

"The truth is I don't know if that's what it was, but I watched my student's chakra blade crystallized in front of my eyes. Probably the only person in the world who could tell me what it was Is you." she said seriously, "So will you help train him?"

For a few moments he thought over it. "If this kid can do what you're saying he's doing, yes, but remember I don't do favorites, I'll be helping train the whole team. Is that ok with you?" He asked

"As long as you leave there training and genjutsu to me, there isn't anyone in the world I would rather be teaching them." She said without missing a beat.

"Like I would be dumb enough to mess with there genjutsu when they have you as there sensei." He replied jokingly. "So when do you want me there?"

"Tomorrow," Kurenai said as she started walking towards the door. "8:00 sharp."

"Where are you going, you must stay for dinner." Taketsu said.

"I'm sorry old friend, but I've another place to be and I'm late as is." She said with a smile. "See you tomorrow" and with that she left.

"Tenten!" he yelled into the other room.

"Yes" she said as she came in.

"You're quite familiar with team 8 correct."

"Yea, any particular reason?" She asked

"I would like your help in teaching them how to master there weapons, I believe you would be a far better teacher to Hinata as you already know her." He smiled as he saw her face light up. If there was anything Tenten liked more than pointy things, it was using her knowledge of them to help other people with pointy things. "So what do you say, you want t…" He didn't get the rest of his sentence out before he was attacked by a hug from his daughter.

"Thank you soooooooo much, when do we start?" she asked.

"Tomorrow." He said, "But first I would like to ask if you know who the new addition to there team is, I would have asked Kurenai but it slipped my mind."

"No actually I don't, I haven't gotten to talk to them in a while, I thought they were still a three man team." She replied.

"Well then I guess we will both meet this mystery kid tomorrow."

(At the hokage's office)

Hinata had no idea what the hokage would want with her, but never the less she was here. after speaking with the desk clerk she was told to come right up, so here she was. After a second she knocked on the hokage's door.

"Come in," she heard from inside. As instructed she opened the door and there was the Hokage.

"You wanted m-me." Hinata said quietly.

"Yes please come in" Tsunade said "have a seat." Hinata complied and the two started the pleasantries.

"How are you doing Hinata, I trust your adapting to your new team." Tsunade said

"a-ano yes, I am, I didn't expect N -Naruto to be quite so p-powerful t-though."

"Yes I guess you were there when Naruto had his little round with Kakashi Huh?" Seeing Hinata nod she continued. "Don't worry, its only a matter of time till you reach that level as well, believe it or not the Konoha twelve all have that potential, it's the first time in a long time you get that many promising ninja in a group."

"W-with all do r-respect, H-hokage-sama. I-I don't think you a-asked me here t-to talk." Hinata said.

"It would seem your right, I think Shino might be rubbing off on you." She said with a smirk. "The reason you're here is because I need something from you, something only you can do." She paused.

"S-surely if you need the b-beakuugan m-my father or n-neji would be f-far better choices." She said quickly.

"No Hinata, this has to be you. No Doubt you've noted Naruto's changes since he came back?" she asked, but with a confirmative nod from Hinata she went on. "Naruto in truth is in a league all his own, and the only three people in the world that know how are himself, a greater demon and a pervert. And Jiraiya won't say anything for fear of Naruto killing him, and burning his newest book before he can publish it. But that doesn't matter, right now Naruto hates Konoha with a passion. What you saw that day two weeks ago still isn't as strong as Naruto will become. And the day he held back" She paused and looked at Hinata who by this part was starting to get scared,

"I want you to look me in the eye's Hinata, he was holding back." She said. "Someday he will be able to control it." She paused again. "And in the interest of my own feelings and the village I do not want him to be our enemy. So here's the baseline. We have possibly the most powerful ninja ever to walk the face of the earth and he just so happens to have a grudge on Konoha, a colleague of mime and myself have worked together and he is going to try being a ninja again, but if it doesn't work out, he will leave. And if one of our enemies gives him the crack at Konoha he would want by then… I don't know if the gods themselves could save us." She gave Hinata a moment to breath it all in.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Hinata asked.

"Simple, the reason he held back two weeks ago is for fear of harming you, the reason he joined to be a ninja again is so he might be able to protect you. Why did he remember YOUR birthday. The answer is, if anyone can turn Naruto back into his old self, it's you. I'm asking you this, not as your hokage, not as your superior, but as just another person, please get Naruto back."

Overcome by the moment all Hinata could find herself able to do was nod. She was able to get one word out though, and it was by all means the right question, "How."

"To tell you the truth Hinata I don't know, but in four weeks I have set up a mission for the two of you, and Tenten. Why, because it will just be the three of you, this will give you a chance to get to know Naruto. Tenten is there because she hasn't had a mission in a while with your father training neji and Gui training lee. The mission is not hard, a b-ranked surveillance mission that will last about a week. the past numbers say you only even see enemy ninja once out of every twenty times you take the trip so it should be pretty safe." She paused at this part knowing Hinata would not like what was coming next.

"Nevertheless it was requested by your family that the only way they would let you go is to have an adult tail you as possible backup. That adult… is going to be your father."

The sadness was written all over her face. "p-please say that w-was a bad joke." She said, she would finally get to be alone with Naruto and her farther had to ruin it.

"The good news, is that you wont even know he is there, and he is under order of the hokage to only come out if you are attacked by something you can't handle, other than that he is to stay out of range of even his beakuugan. Unless you are attacked, it's just you, Tenten, and Naruto. Now go on, I think you're expected at home."

Hearing this Hinata got up and left, the walk home that night would go by too fast however as she though of a full week with Naruto.

(8:30 the next morning.)

Team 8 stood waiting at there usual training place for Kurenai. Shino was getting agitated and Hinata was a little shocked, with the exception of Shino the she was the biggest pusher for always being on time. Naruto was just chilling, after a year of Kakashi's tardiness and 3 of listening to late excuses about research from Jiraiya, who wouldn't be used to a half hour late sensei. She did, however, arrive not long after though. Along with Tenten and Takatsu.

"Good morning" Kurenai said. "Sorry I'm late; we had to make sure we were ready to start your new training."

"Our new weapons training." Naruto said with a glint in his eye.

"Wait" said Tenten "Naruto, you were the new addition to the team."

"I'm here aren't I?"

Takatsu looked over to Kurenai, "This is the kid!! The demo…" he didn't finish his sentence as he was too busy dodging the flurry of kunai from Naruto and a fury of cold stares from the others.

"If you don't like it, leave. Walk back out the same way you walked in." Naruto said, all traces of comedy gone from his voice. With a disapproving glare Kurenai put up a genjutsu around the two of them so the people on the outside couldn't hear… or throw more weapons.

"What?"

"I expected more, I'll have you know that he has proved himself a hundred times over and still after all this village has done to that kid he has never once hurt anybody. If he wanted to kill you, if he was a demon, you would already be dead. I watched that kid kick the crap out of Kakashi yesterday and he almost won. Let me put it this way, Kakashi can't get out of bed right now, and he looks pretty damn fine to me. I hate to say it old friend, but if the two of you got in a fight… I'd put my money on him. That's also the kid who can make the Moissinite so you should watch who you insult." Kurenai said with a fire in her eye's. "Were going to try this one more time, I expect a full apology to Naruto, not demon boy, Naruto. Oh and by the way, expect hell when you get home, I caught the needles Tenten threw at you." She said as she held up a good five needles.

Slowly the barrier around the two jounin dissipated and the faded back into view.

"Naruto," Said Taketsu, "You have my apologies; I acted only on what I had heard without taking the time to find out for myself. For that I am sorry." He said with a small bow.

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said. But the next sentence was the one that struck ice to the man. "I'm used to it." It took Taketsu a moment to think about that, how do you get used to being called a demon?

"Ok." Said Kurenai "Naruto you're going to be starting with Taketsu and I, Tenten will be working with Hinata and Shino. In a little bit we will trade off. Hinata, Tenten is going to work with you especially since you're such good friends already. Taketsu will personally work with Naruto and Shino you will trade off, surprisingly you have the ability to do almost all the attacks that can be taught so your going to learn a little of each."

With that the team set there separate ways, but it was Naruto who got the surprise.

"Naruto," Taketsu said, "Kurenai tells me good things, but most of all a story about you fascinates me. I hear that you have a very special ability…"

"Not a good Idea man, I'm not a kid, and I 'm not blind, you want something from me. That's the only reason you were so quick to apologize back there. Since I figured Kurenai handeld it and that's what I want I didn't press the matter. But I'm not a kid and I don't like you treating me like I need to have my confidence boosted by a story. You mine as well come out with it, what is it that you want?" He interrupted.

"Well since you put it so forward, its been said that you can make Moissinite." He put his hands together in a pleading way. "My whole life I have been looking for it, for a way to create it. Do you have a dream Naruto, one you would do anything for, die for?" He asked

"No, I don't have a dream really, I just plan on wandering around. But I understand the concept, I had a dream like that… once, a long time ago." He replied.

"Well then you know how much it means when I ask you if you really can do this, you'll be making this old mans dreams come true. Will you do it for me?"

After a speech like that Naruto simply couldn't refuse. "Fine what do I need to do."

"Kurenai said when you fought with Kakashi you made a sword out of nothing but a handle by crystallizing your chakra, can you do it again?" He asked.

It took a second but Naruto replied. "No, I'm sorry I can't. It's not that I'm unwilling to, but I don't have the power. I can only do that maybe once a week." he watched as Taketsu's face fell. "But I still have the sword, when you crystallize the chakra it stops coming from your body and becomes permanent, that way you don't have to keep wasting chakra to have a sword. You can also decristalize it and get a little bit of the energy you put in back, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. You want to see it?" Seeing the man franticly nod his head he pulled out his sword, and tossed it over to Taketsu.

"That's it; you aren't even going to tell me to be careful?"

"No need, you could take ten thousand degrees and a tank to that thing and it wouldn't have a scratch, I don't really know that much about it, but I know no human could damage it." Naruto said.

"Would you like to know a little more about it?" He said as he stared in awe at the blade. "You just proved that my lifelong chase isn't worthless, this is defiantly Moissinite. It's every bit as beautiful as I imagined. Let's go to my workshop, we can talk this over."

"Ok, I have to tell Kurenai-sensei."

"Don't worry about it, I heard you, I trust you guys aren't at each others throats anymore?" Kurenai said.

"It wasn't a good way to start off, but first impressions are often entirely wrong." Naruto said.

"Get out of here then, I'll go help Hinata and Shino."

The two went on down the street headed for Taketsu's weapon shop when Naruto spied a ramen stand off to the side.

"Hey if you don't mind I'm going to get some thing to eat." Naruto said

"No I don't mind at all, actually kid, I'll buy."

The two went into the stand and ordered there respective ramens when Taketsu started up a conversation. "You don't know how happy you made me today kid, listen. How bout this, I teach you everything I can about weapons, and supply you, if you let me study your sword. Would you be willing to do that?"

"Yea, I would. You know, they say you can hit a bull's-eye from a mile away with a shuruken, and it still have enough force to shatter the tree you threw it at. Can you really do that?"

"In my heyday kid, yea. Now, probably not, but I can teach you too, I don't fight like my daughter, she figures if you throw enough weapons one of them will get around any defense, and for her it works. Me I say if you hit anything hard enough in the right spot, it will shatter, that goes for defenses too. While my daughter goes around, I go through."

"It will be good to learn some new weapons attacks." Naruto said almost to himself.

No reply came however as the food came up, the rest of the meal was eaten in silence, but on the way home Taketsu had only one thing in his mind, a though that Naruto just seemed to pass to people. _That's one hell of a kid._

_------------------------------------_

_Chapter 6 complete, and in record time I might add. Now before people start e-mailing me. Moissinite is a REAL substance that is manmade as a substitute for diamond. Normally the things used in glass and gem cutters are Moissinite. That's about it here hope you enjoyed the chapter_

_AN: reviews are good._

_Ghost… _


	7. The chaos of a day off

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Right… I thought that was pretty straight forward

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(Last time)

"It will be good to learn some new weapons attacks." Naruto said almost to himself.

No reply came however as the food came up, the rest of the meal was eaten in silence, but on the way home Taketsu had only one thing in his mind, a though that Naruto just seemed to pass to people. _That's one hell of a kid._

For the next two weeks things went on pretty much the same, the training regimen was the toughest yet, but Hinata and Shino were both amazed that at the end of the day Naruto hadn't even broken a sweat, mean while the two of them could barely make it home before collapsing, over the weeks however Hinata noticed that in the hours before sunset, Naruto was no where to be found. She searched high and low for him in the village, only to go home no closer to her love than she started. She put the thoughts away however as Shino said he had a surprise for the team and it was nearing the end of training.

"Alright… I think that's enough." Kurenai said as she jumped off a branch. "Go ahead and cool down, then I think Shino has something to say."

After a few laps and some stretches they all settled down. Hinata took a seat while Naruto and Kurenai stood.

"It has fallen under mind of my parents that a dinner should be hosted in order they get to further acquaint themselves with my present team" Shino fixed his glasses. "So, in turn you are, along with your families should they choose to come, invited to the Abarume estate for dinner tomorrow" He finished, one thing about the Abarume they were always straight to the point.

"I am here to ask if you all would like to attend and if you are bringing guests so as to plan for how many we should prepare for." He looked around as if to signal they should respond.

"I'm in, but it will just be me." Kurenai said without hesitations.

"A-ano, I'll be there. I bet my father will want to come however so you should plan on two." Hinata said.

"Good." Said Shino "and you Naruto… Naruto?" all looked to where there teammate stood merely a second ago but found nothing but a letter pinned to a tree with a senbon.

Quickly Kurenai went over to the tree and ripped off the letter, opening with haste.

_Kurenai,_

_I figure you're probably the first one to notice I'm gone. As for the invitation I must respectfully decline, being amongst Shino and Hinata's families is not my place. My presence would simply complicate and ruin an evening that may otherwise be an enjoyable occasion. Do pass on my regrets._

_Naruto…_

Slowly Kurenai turned back to her team. "So what did it say?" Shino asked.

Thinking quickly Kurenai… well she lied. "Go ahead and expect him, I'm going to go see if I can find out where he went off to. You two go ahead and go home, well take tomorrow off since you guys have worked hard this week." Breathing a sigh of relief Shino and Hinata promptly left the training grounds.

Them gone Kurenai took off, She new he wasn't gone for more than a couple minutes. How far could he get in a couple minutes? She picked up on Naruto's trail and sped off in the direction he left in. after a couple of minutes she found herself in an area she wasn't all to familiar with, but would be a place that would hold many memories for Naruto. The team seven training grounds, and sure enough, there on the bridge was Naruto himself. It was dark out now and for all she could tell he was staring at the stars.

"Looking for me Kurenai-sensei" he said without turning around.

"Yes, Naruto why did you run off like that, and then decline Shino's invitation, he's your teammate for god sakes." Kurenai said as she stepped up on the bridge with him.

"No, well yes he is my teammate, but I have been here what two weeks, and in that two weeks I may have spent three days in training with you guys, I'm always off with Taketsu-sensei. Hell we don't even know if we work well together yet. Hinata can't stop fainting when I'm around her so as far as I know I'm scaring the shit out of her and don't know why." At this Kurenai let out a laugh

"Trust me Naruto, I don't think that the problem with Hinata." She said through laughs.

"But see, that's exactly what I'm talking about, another inside joke that makes absolutely no sense to me because I wasn't there. That makes me anything but a teammate. In all respects I might as well be a member of team 7 still, I am a member of team 7 still, I just got thrown into team 8 to fill a position. That and I'm pretty sure the Abarume's and the Hyuuga's wont take there children being on a team with me that well, if it's anything like how they took to me trying to be friends with them the scene will not be a happy one. That's why I declined the invitation. I would rather not ruin the party." Naruto said as he looked up at the stars. "I'm sorry, I don't usually get like this, my life is not your problem." He said as he put up his trademark smile, hiding himself in a fake happiness once more.

_That's amazing, to just be able to fake emotions like that… this boy walks around all his life with that smile to hide the pain, I bet it's second nature now, and I bet its many layers thick, should that smile fall, I bet there are a hundred others to take it's place. _Kurenai thought, regaining her train of though however she said the only thing that made sense to her at the time.

"Naruto, I think Shino would rather have a party with a few bumps in the road because you were there, then have a flawless party because you weren't. I'm not going to make you do anything, but I think you really should attend."

"Right, I'll be sure to mull over it later, you did say we had tomorrow off right?"

"Yes"

"Good, can I come to your house tomorrow, there's something I want to show you."

"Do you know where I live?" asked Kurenai in disbelief. A student had just asked to visit her house; even Shino and Hinata hadn't seen HER house.

"Kurenai-sensei, I know where everybody lives." He said as he whipped out a kunai and stabbed himself. Kurenai was just about to freak until she saw Naruto poof out of existence. _I've been talking to a shadow clone, smart kid, he could be anywhere by now._

(6:30 the next morning)

Hinata had just woken up; she got up in time for training even though they had none. She had other plans today. She was going to try to spend the day with Naruto, why not? She hung out with Shino all the time. What would be so different about this? Suddenly her face fell into a massive blush as her mind took her to some thoughts she wasn't quite prepared for. Soon after regaining her composure she reset herself. _I can do this, I will do this, how will you ever make Naruto like you if he never sees you in a conscious state. _But once again the mere thought of him brought back the ever rising blush.

_God, Maybe I should get Tenten's help, she is always up early and they don't have training ether. _ That set Hinata left for Tenten's house, surly she could help her.

(Meanwhile at Kurenai's Estate)

Naruto had just arrived but Kurenai was nowhere to be found, He knew this was her house, it said Yuuhi Kurenai on the front door. It was alright however as he didn't have wait long.

"Do you not sleep Naruto?" Kurenai said as she walked out of the house. She was dressed and ready for the day but you could see that she just woke up.

"Not a morning person Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto retorted

"I do my best not to be, at least when I don't have too. So what exactly did you come to my house for on our fine day off?" She asked, after all she still didn't know what was going on.

"To teach you something and to get your permission to teach Shino and Hinata."

"Really, and what is it you plan to teach me." She said with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"What you think I couldn't possibly know something you don't because I'm younger, to think that would make you a fool, you can learn anything from anybody, and I hardly see you as a fool."

"Very well you made your point, what it is you wish to show me."

"You are familiar with a technique called shield spike right?"

"Yes, all jounin are required to know it, it takes a lot of energy but there is only one shield technique left in existence that it can't break through, that I believe is one of Garra's master defenses."

"Close, your almost spot on but there is one more shield it cant break, tell you what, I'll show you." He said as he started doing hand signs "when my shield comes up, I want you to hit it as hard as you can with a shield spike." Kurenai nodded her head to show she understood so Naruto completed the shield. "Blood mist wall!" he said as a crimson rectangle about ten feet high and eight feet wide formed in front of him, the only thing that confused Kurenai was the wall itself was no thicker than a sheet of paper.

"You ready?" Kurenai asked

"Yea, Hit it"

Though hesitant, Kurenai forced as much chakra into the spike as she could and took off at insane speeds at the shield, the attack was like Kakashi's Chidori, put a lot of power into a little space, and then make it lightning fast, were it not for the fact that a shield spike is harmless to humans, it would be classified as a assassination technique.

When the spike hit it became a battle of force, the power was already breaking around the spike but the shield was just sitting there. Suddenly the spike exploded sending Kurenai flying in the air, but after a few flips she landed safely on her feet. The she looked at Naruto's shield. _There's no way, there's not even a scratch on it._

"This Kurenai is what I plan to teach you." Naruto said as he dropped the shield.

"Alright Naruto you've impressed me. But before we get on with this, answer me a question. I know you well enough to know that you are not one to just give out your techniques, especially your powerful ones. So I guess the question is, why are you teaching me this?" Kurenai asked.

"The answer is simple Kurenai-sensei, not too much more than a month ago I lost every single precious person I had, and I lost respect for everyone I ever knew. I would rather keep the very few precious people I have now; the very few I once again have respect for, alive." He paused and looked Kurenai in the eye "The reason I came to you is to ask if you think I can teach it to Hinata and Shino, do you think they could handle it?"

"Huh, Maybe Hinata because she uses he chakra like that for her jyuuken but I will have to work with Shino before it can happen with him." Kurenai replied

Within the next hour Kurenai had the technique; it was pretty easy to teach a jounin level move to a jounin, the trick would be to teach it to a chuunin. His work done however he left Kurenai with a good bye and went to find Hinata.

(Meanwhile with Hinata)

It was going on 9:00 and Hinata had somehow found herself in Tenten's room under a mountain of clothes that was slowly getting bigger as Tenten shot clothes out of her closet that she swore would look good on Hinata and totally take care of the 'Naruto not noticing her problem'. Finally Hinata spoke up.

"T-Tenten, I-if I wanted a f-full makeover I would have gone to Ino. I-It's m-more like the confidence to approach a guy I need more than c-clothes." She said

"Well alright, how do you need help with your confidence?"

"A-ano I don't know it's just your always so sure of yourself, If you wanted to ask a guy out you would just walk right up and ask, but I cant even be around Naruto by ourselves without fainting. How do you do it?"

"I guess I just do, tell you what, if you were a hundred percent sure that Naruto would say yes if you asked him out, would you do it." Tenten said as she got up and looked out the window, a smile forming on her face.

"Of c-course I would, I would do anything for him to say yes."

"Now, to make him 100 sure he want's to go out with you, you have to at least strike up a conversation with him right?"

"Right."

"So it's settled then, the next time you see Naruto you are going to just go up and say hi, and then invite him to an early lunch."

"N-No I couldn't a-ask him to lunch." Hinata said "That would be too much like a date."

"Ahh, come on girl, think about it, your teammates, I been you've gone to lunch with Shino a hundred times."

"O-Ok the next time I see Naruto I'm going to ask him out to an early lunch." Hinata said with a smile "Wait… why an early lunch."

"Because he's walking up to my house as we speak." Tenten said pointing her finger out the window.

Hinata jumped to the window, and sure enough, one blond Uzumaki was standing at the door. "O-oh god he's a-actually h-here, w-why is he here? What do I say?"

"Hinata, calm down, all you have to do is exactly what you said you would, just walk up and ask him to lunch."

"Right… that's all I have to do." Hinata said as she straightened up "Oh god I cant do this."

At this Tenten rolled her eye's "This might take longer than I thought."

(mean while downstairs)

Naruto stood outside the door, the guard at the Hyuuga estate said she wasn't in, and Shino was getting ready for the party, and he didn't really know where else she would be. So he knocked. And then the door opened to revel Mr. Hikari.

"Naruto my boy, come to get some extra training on your day off, come in, come in."

"No Taketsu-sensei I'm actually here looking for someone."

"Well it wouldn't happen to be Miss Hinata would it, she's been here with Tenten for a couple of hours, seems Team 8 can't stay away from this place." He said

"Speak of the devil she's the one." Said Naruto

"Alright, you go sit down in the living room and I'll run upstairs and get them." He said as he left up the stairs

Naruto himself just stood in the doorway, not that he had anything against living rooms, he just preferred to stand.

Mr. Hikari knocked on the girl's door. "Tenten, is Miss Hinata in there with you?"

"Yea, do you need us for something?"

"Naruto is at the door, says he wants to talk to you."

"Ok well be right down" Tenten replied

In the room Hinata was still a wreck, "Come on Hinata he's asking for _you_"

"I can't"

"Yes you can girl. Come on, we are going to walk down there and you are going to ask him to lunch." She said as she picked Hinata up and practically dragged her down the stairs.

"Naruto!" Tenten said "What brings so many of team 8 here this fine morning?"

"Well believe what you may you may I'm actually here to take my teammate off your hands for a little while." Naruto said while Tenten motioned at Hinata

"Ask him" she said so Naruto couldn't hear.

"A-ano what d-do you need me for N-Naruto?"

"Well Training, in good lee fashion, never a day off. There was a couple of things I wanted to go over and I'm sorry to report that Shino cant get out of his party planning so it will be just you and me."

At this Tenten smiled, it was going to be just her and Naruto anyway. "Ask him Hinata, you're never going to get a better chance." She whispered.

"A-ano, N-N-Naruto-kun, w-well I'm k-kind of hungry, d-do y-you maybe want t-to talk a-about it over an e-early lunch?" Hinata said in a hushed tone, hushed, but audible.

"Sure I don't see why we can't do that, come on; I have some money to blow and I'm hungry as well." he said as he motioned Hinata to the door, "Later everybody"

"Good luck Hinata" Tenten said with a wink as she left out the door.

Within ten minutes the two were inside of town and walking around looking for a place to sit down "So where do you feel like eating Hinata?"

"A-ano just I-Ichkaru's is f-fine." Hinata said hoping she wasn't getting red.

"Alright, not like I'm ever going to turn down ramen." He said as they turned around and headed towards the Restaurant.

"What w-was it y-you wanted to t-talk t-to me about?"

"Worry about that stuff later," Naruto said as the entered and took stools at the bar "Trust me, your going to have plenty of time to think about it, for now let's just enjoy the meal."

"Naruto!" Said Ayame as she spotted the Number one customer of there Restaurant. "So what will it be today?"

"Just a couple of miso and a shrimp for me, how about you Hinata?"

"A-ano, I'll have a Shrimp also." Hinata replied.

"Coming right up, so what's up with you two, you on a date?" She said playfully as she nudged Naruto. Hinata Knew it was just a joke but that didn't help her blush. Keeping up the act Ayame went further. "You know you got a real keeper here in this one Hinata, if I were his age I would have already taken him of the market." She finished with a smile.

"Oh lay off Ayame, you know how much I hate it when you do this, Hinata and I are teammates now."

"Oh teammates now are we, and if you hate my picking on you so much than why do you still come here almost every day?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Because there isn't anything in the world that could keep me from old man Ichkaru's ramen." He said back

"Men and there Food." She said with a sigh

"Hey did I hear something about my cooking up there, and who are you calling old." He said as he came out of the back with the food. Looking at the stares from Naruto and his daughter however, he found himself defeated. "Ok, I'm old. But I'm the best damn ramen chief in Konoha." He said with pride.

Naruto just smiled "You better believe it old man."

"Alright, we better leave you two to it." Ayame said as she forced her father back into the kitchen. When they got back they started talking.

"So what's the deal with them, Naruto is almost always in here alone."

"Well, Naruto is the replacement for team eight." Ayame replied "But when I chided them about being on a date, I expected Hinata to blush, lord know she has loved that boy since I don't know when, But what I didn't expect is Hinata wasn't the only one blushing."

"What, you mean Naruto? Nah no way."

"It was faint, but I defiantly have to say he was blushing."

"Look at the kid; I haven't ever seen more collected kid in my life. I think you're seeing things Ayame."

"S-so, asked Hinata "A-are you looking forward to t-the party tonight?"

"Not really, I'm not going" Naruto replied monotone

"W-what do you mean y-you're not g-going, the note you left said you were coming."

"No, Kurenai _told you_ the note I left said I accepted, the reality is I, as respectfully as possible, declined Shino's invitation." Naruto said as he finished his first bowl of Ramen.

"But why? He's your teammate." Hinata asked

"Those were almost Kurenai's exact words when she asked me that last night. I don't fit in, in a crowd, I don't mix. Lord knows that most of your family hates me, and while the Abarume have never been right out rude to me even they will not be happy if they find out there son is on a team with a de… with the Kyuubi's jailer. I'm not going so that conflict of interest may be avoided and the evening may actually be enjoyable. That's the baseline." He said as he put up a fake smile and finished his second miso ramen. "But its ok, I'm used to it, don't worry about me, go to the party and have a good time."

"You k-know Naruto, I-I wish you would c-come."

"Well, I promised Kurenai-sensei I would think about it and I'll give you the same promise, I'll think it over." By this point Hinata had already finished her ramen and watched as Naruto finished his.

"Thanks for the food old man!" Naruto said as he put some money on the counter, then Hinata started to do the same but Naruto stopped her. "Don't worry about it, I already got yours." He said with a smile.

"Hinata wait" Ayame called as she came out from the back. "Go on ahead Naruto, girl talk."

"Right. I'll meet you outside Hinata." He said as he went for the exit.

"What do you n-need me for?" Hinata asked.

"Listen to me Hinata, I know about you liking Naruto… Don't worry, your secrets safe with me. But I was kidding when I said you two were on a date, I wasn't when I said if he were my age I would have already taken him of the market. He's one in a million to grow up in the situation he did and still be an amazing person by regular standards. What I'm saying is right now he's going through something that makes hell look nice, and no matter what he says, he's going to need your help, and maybe you should try being a little more forward with him." She said with a smile. "He's been in and out of this restaurant for 12 years, and never once have I seen him pay for someone else's meal. You mean something to him, don't waist it. Now run along, He's waiting for you outside." It took Hinata a moment to process everything but gave an affirmative nod when it registered and she left to go meet Naruto.

"What did Ayame want?" Naruto asked

"A-ano…" Hinata said trying to think of a good lie

"Oh, I understand, girl talk." Hinata just nodded her head.

"Umm, N-Naruto-kun, Shino wanted us there at t-three and it's going on o-one now. How l-long do y-you think t-this training is g-going to take?"

"Yeh I suppose your right, Tell you what, Lets just skip training today, it's our day off anyway, and lets get you home."

"H-Hai"

"Lead the way Hinata, I fear I've never been to the Hyuuga estate from this side of town." He said

With Hinata in lead the two soon found themselves a mere block from the Hyuuga estate when Naruto stopped. "Well Hinata, this is as far as I go. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he turned and started to walk away.

_Come on Hinata tell him. _She thought "N-Naruto-kun wait, I-I have to t-tell you s-something." She blurted out.

"Yeah Hinata, what is it?"

"I-I-I-I…" She looked down knowing she wouldn't be able to tell him, she never could before, why would this be any different.

"What is it Hinata?"

"Thank you for the Meal Naruto-kun" she said in a defeated voice.

"No problem, good cover-up lie too. I don't know what you were really going to say but I'll wait for whenever your ready to tell me." He said; he had been lying to people his whole life; he could spot one of those instantly. "Later..." He said as he took off.

Hinata just stood frozen. So easily he knew that she was lying, but he didn't seem mad.

There were just some things about that boy that Hinata could only stand in awe at, things that only made her love him more.

(5:00 At the Abarume estate)

The party had been going on for an hour now and things were going well, but all of team 8 agreed it just wasn't the same without Naruto. Dinner was to be served at six and until that point they all were hanging out in the back yard. It seemed Shino's family was actually a family of four; Shino had a three year old sister. The only other three attending were Hinata, her father, and Kurenai. Shino and Hinata were playing with Kari, Shino's little sister, when his father called him up to the deck.

"Hai father." Shino said

"Come Shino we have waited long enough, if the Third member of team 8 is not going to be able to attend than at least tell us his name." Shibi asked.

"I'm afraid I'll have to intervene," Kurenai said. "He specifically asked that if he were unable to make it that his identity remain unknown until dinner was over." With an affirmative nod that conversation ended… and the doorbell rang.

"That must be him now," Kurenai said "I'll go tell him where we are." She said as she walked back through the house to open the front door. Sure enough however, there in the doorway was one Naruto Uzumaki.

"You and Hinata guilt tripped me into this," Naruto said straight forward. "If this blows up, I blame you."

Kurenai couldn't help but chuckle "Ok Naruto but why aren't you dressed for dinner?" It was true and it was one of the things Naruto was worried about, even Kurenai had come in a kimono, and with how uptight the Hyuuga's were he bet they came in dress robes.

"I don't get invited to parties," He said coolly, though obviously not in a good mood. "The only clothes I even own are this and my mission armor. I'll let you choose which I wear to the party I didn't want to be at." His voice was dull, and it became painfully clear to Kurenai another reason why Naruto refused to be here. He knew this was not a situation he was prepared for or used to and was trying to avoid making a mockery of not only himself, but most importantly his team.

Back in the yard Hinata tried to straighten out her kimono, It was one of the things she hated about kimonos were they were not very good at hiding certain… features. This was the loosest one she owned and it quite clearly showed that Hinata was indeed… gifted. She swore she thought she was going to die if Naruto saw her like this.

Her problems were minor and she was quite sure no one was watching her bust as the door slid open to reveille Naruto, a look of shock spread like a wave across the faces of the adults.

"I hate to say I told you so" he whispered as he left Kurenai's side and walked out into the lawn to Shino and a very red Hinata, all eyes following him.

"Shino, Hinata, I'm here." He said calmly, "now I'm leaving, it's obvious my welcome is already long worn out."

"Nonsense, you are always welcome in the Abarume household." Shino said

"Shino, do me a favor and look over at your parents, Then tell me just how welcome I am in this house." He said

Shino looked over at his parents and saw something that truly surprised him, on the face of both his parents, the emotionless Abarume, two things were evident. The first and luckily the strongest was surprise, but there was no mistaking the other, the other was disgust. During all this Haishi had pulled Kurenai off to the side deck where no one was, but out of the corner of his eye Shino caught Naruto walking up to his parents. _What, when did he move?_ He thought as he looked over at Hinata only to realize the truth behind Naruto's words had frozen her solid, it was a wonder she was still conscious.

"You'll forgive me," Naruto said as he walked by Shibi. "If I don't stay for dinner, I find myself unwelcome, and I do hate to burden." Before Shibi even had a chance to respond the door was already closed and Uzumaki Naruto… gone.

(On the side porch)

"Kurenai, I do not feel like my daughter is safe with that _demon _on her team, I insist that he be removed from team 8 immediately." Haishi said

"No can do, I happen to like my team. If you've got a problem with Naruto, you've got a problem with me, and if you've got a problem with me, go take it up with the hokage." Kurenai replied.

"I've a crazy idea." Said a new voice. Both present turned to see Naruto standing in the doorway. "If you've got a problem with me, why not take it up with… hell I don't know… me."

"Naruto how long have you been standing there?" Kurenai asked.

"Long enough to know that the feelings of welcome are pretty much the same here as they were back there, but that's not the problem is it? Let me see if I have this all straight. You're afraid for your daughter's safety because she has a _demon_ on her team correct?"

"Yes bu…"

"I was not done talking Haishi-_dono_ it is rude to interrupt. Now you would agree that the classification of demon requires multiple acts which would be considered demonic, even you cannot deny this logic."

"True"

"Over the past 16 years I could have released the Kyuubi and ended all of your miserable little lives at any time I wanted. Seeing as there is still a Konoha to speak of and you are still alive that has not happened has it."

"No" Haishi said truthfully

"Now tell me, would you consider my choice to hold back the Kyuubi even though this village treats me as if I was the demon itself, demonic?"

"No"

"Then perhaps you cam give me an example of one of my actions that would be classified as demonic." Naruto said, deliberately putting Haishi on the spot.

"No" Haishi said after a minute, Naruto's logic was infallible, he knew where this was going, and he already knew… Naruto had won this battle.

"So my actions are not demonic, which makes me not a demon, so unless you were referring to Shino, Team 8 is in fact, demonless. There you have it, problem solved. Now if you will excuse me, have a nice night Kurenai-sensei, And Haishi-dono… Enjoy your meal" And then he was warped away just as Mrs. Abarume came and got the two for dinner.

As they all sat down Mrs. Abarume said. "So Uzumaki-san will not be joining us for dinner?"

"No," Kurenai replied while shooting a death glare at Haishi. "I do not believe he will"

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Alright, I took me a little while but it's finally here, Chapter 7. you know, it would be oh so nice if you review.

Anyway, so it has been asked that Sakura will not return to the story as a large character, we may see her again, but that is it.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Ghost…


	8. Later days

Welcome one and all, now, you all know how I hate long introductions, so in the interest of time I will make this quick, Naruto is not owned by me, I own the storyline and a few of the characters, but that's it. Also as of now I am making it mandatory that if you read the story you review the story, I only had one person I don't know review my story last time and I need the input to tell me what the readers like dislike and how to make the story better. Without information on what the readers want to see it is hard to continue a story. Plus everyone who reviews gets a cookie.

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(last time)

_As they all sat down Mrs. Abarume said. "So Uzumaki-san will not be joining us for dinner?" _

"_No," Kurenai replied while shooting a death glare at Haishi. "I do not believe he will"_

The rest of dinner was eaten in a complete silence, no one could think about anything other than Naruto and no one was willing to talk about that. So as the meal came to a close everyone stood, and while Mrs. Abarume took up the dishes Shibi lead the Hyuuga's to the door.

"Thank you for the meal" Haishi said "It was wonderful; we will have to return the favor sometime."

"No need to do such things, but thank you for the complement" Shibi replied

"Very well, I wish you a good afternoon then, Hinata, come, let's go home."

With that the door shut and Shibi found his way back to the dinning room where he found his wife already waiting and his son at the table twirling a kunai.

"I believe it would be… beneficial." Shino said to his parents. "If you both took a seat, we've much to talk about."

It would not be a pleasant evening at the Abarume household.

(Inside Naruto's mind.)

Naruto had taken a seat a started to play a game of shogi with Kyuubi. Per the usual, Kyuubi was quite efficiently handing Naruto his ass.

"God." Naruto said as he found himself, once again, in checkmate. "How on earth are you so good at this game, one of these day I'm just going to quit and let you play Shikamaru, you might actually have to think to beat him."

"Don't be such a sore loser Naruto, besides, how do you think I keep myself occupied while I'm in your body with nothing to do? I sit here and beat myself at shogi." Kyuubi replied as she put up the board. "Let's talk about the party"

"Hell no." Naruto replied "Let's just forget about the party, I'll talk about anything, so long as it's not the party."

"Really, anything?"

"Anything"

"Okay, you like her don't you?" Kyuubi said with a smile

"What? Who?"

"Hinata, you like her don't you."

"Whoa, no way, why would I like her?" Naruto said

"Come on Naruto you know you can't hide it from me, I practically am you, I'm fully in touch with all your senses." Kyuubi replied.

"Then I guess I'm lucky personal feelings aren't one of the five senses. Besides, let's say I did like her, I'm a nobody, she's a Hyuuga Princess, a _Hyuuga princess. _For me to even get closer than teammates to her would require an approval and a blessing from her father, which I won't get, and it would require that Hinata return the feelings, which won't happen. Plus, as of right now Hinata is the best friend I actually have, I'm not going to risk one of my few friendships for something as impossible as love." Naruto replied. "Besides, that would only be _if _I liked her of course."

"Okay, Okay, you made your point. Come on, it's almost time for you to wake up."

(8:00 team 8 training grounds)

All of team 8 had arrived on time for once but Kurenai had them all waiting for something. It wasn't until nearly ten minutes later Kurenai spoke up.

"Ok everyone, today we have a special treat, Gui is out on a mission today and has asked me to let his team train with us, so, for today Tenten and Lee will be training with us."

"Kurenai-sensei," Shino intruded, "why isn't Neji training with us as well?"

"Whenever Gui goes away Haishi always insists that he train neji." She replied. "Ah, here they come now." Just as she finished Tenten and lee came running up.

"Sorry were late, we weren't thinking and went to our normal training grounds." Tenten said.

"Don't worry about it, you're here now, Ok I want you to partner up, and after all your warm ups, we are going to have a sparring session." Kurenai stated.

_Shit _thought Naruto; _at this distance I won't even take a solid hit._

"Tenten, you'll be with Hinata. Lee, you'll be with Shino, and I'll be with Naruto." Kurenai said. "Alright every body go ahead through the warm up."

"Wait Kurenai-sensei" lee spoke up. "Please, ever since his return I have been itching for a match against my eternal rival Naruto, please allow me to change partners."

_Damn. _Thought Naruto.

"I don't see why not, ok lee your with Naruto." Kurenai said.

"Naruto my friend," Lee said as he ran to stand beside Naruto "Let us show our comrades the fires of youth that burn brightly within us." He finished as he brought his hand down hard on Naruto's back in a nice guy pose.

'Poof' Naruto's clone fell away as lee's hand landed on his back.

(Somewhere a long way away)

_Damn, _Thought the real Naruto. _I was hoping it would by more time than that._

(Back with the group)

_Damn, _Thought Kurenai, _I was afraid of that. _

"A-ano Kurenai-sensei, what happened to Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"He's skipped training, no doubt mulling over the party last night." Kurenai replied.

"What party?" Tenten asked

"There was a dinner party at my house last night; I fear the occasion was anything but enjoyable for Naruto-san." Shino replied.

"Wait, so what are we going to do about Naruto?" Tenten asked

After a few minutes of thinking Kurenai came to a conclusion. "Alright everybody, new plan, today your objective is to find Naruto and bring him here. If there is still enough time left we will still do our sparring. Does everyone understand?"

With a chorus of 'Hai's' the chuunin leapt away, all but Hinata. "What's wrong Hinata?"

"I just need to ask you some things, b-besides, I-I hate to s-sound like Shikamaru but t-they won't f-find Naruto-kun. It's a waist of e-energy." Hinata said as she walked over and sat next to Kurenai.

"Why do you say they won't find him?" Kurenai asked.

"I don't know, you know h-how I k-kinda l-like N-Naruto-kun r-right?"

"Yeah."

"W-well Tenten keeps telling me to t-try to be more f-forward so o-one afternoon I went l-looking f-for him, to… you know at least get him to n-notice me. But he was gone, nowhere in Konoha. Everyday s-since I h-have t-tried to f-find N-Naruto after t-training and e-even w-with my Beakuugan I cant f-find him. Its l-like he drops off the map till 8:00 the Next morning. The o-only time I h-have ever seen N-Naruto-kun outside o-of training he c-came l-looking for me." Hinata said "Can I ask y-you something K-Kurenai-sensei?"

"Of course."

"Well e-everyone k-keeps t-telling me that I should be m-more forward w-with Naruto and j-just ask him out, b-but I can barely h-hold c-consciousness around him, I-I guess what I'm a-asking is… W-what would you do?" She said with her head down, obviously to hide her blush.

"Now Hinata, I understand what you're going through, but do you really think the best time to talk about boy trouble is in the middle of training?" Kurenai asked

"I-I guess not."

"Right now I tell you what, you go look for Naruto now anyway like the other three, and if we don't find him than just you and I will look after training ok? Then we can talk."

"Ok"

(With the others)

With Lee in the lead the three leapt through the trees in search of Naruto, but just because they were in pursuit didn't stop the usual conversations.

"Do you have any idea where he might be Shino?" Tenten asked

"No, unfortunately Naruto has never crossed paths with me outside of training, besides Ichkaru's ramen, I am just as oblivious as you are."

"Well I guess we can try the Ramen stand but I doubt he would be in a place so obvious." Tenten reasoned.

"Worry not my friends, our flames of youth will lead us to our comrade without fail. I will find Naruto-san, and if I cannot, I will run 500 laps around Konoha on one leg." Lee finished with a thumbs up a ping coming off his smile. "First however I agree that it would be wise to visit Ichkaru's ramen to look for info."

Suddenly Hinata came out of the trees on there side and joined the group. "Where have you been Hinata?" Tenten asked.

"I-I just had some t-things I need to t-talk with K-Kurenai-sensei about. T-that's all." She replied.

The conversations died down and after a few minutes and the foursome found themselves standing in front of Ichkaru's ramen. Without hesitation the four went in and scanned the place for Naruto, and then met up outside.

"He defiantly isn't in there," Tenten said. "I even asked Ayame if she had seen him she said the last time she saw him he was in here with you Hinata."

"Y-yeah," Hinata said while trying to fight off the blush. "We had lunch here before we went to Shino's party."

Suddenly Tenten felt some one tap her shoulder and she whipped around and found her eyes locked with none other than Naruto. "You know if you're looking for me, you're probably wasting your time. You would be far better off to go do something productive." Naruto said, and right after he finished he poofed away.

"Damn, more shadow clones." Tenten said

Sudden lee caught another Naruto walking down the street out of the corner of his eye. "Friends, Naruto is over there." Lee said pointing with his finger.

They all turned just in time to see him walk into a back ally. And they soon followed suit. The foursome went on weaving through the alleys of Konoha until the found themselves at a junction of four alleys. And no trace of Naruto.

"Lost him again, which way do you think he went?" Lee asked.

"That is not the question you should be asking." Came a voice from behind them, they all whipped around once again to find Naruto standing there. "The question you should be asking your self is which way I didn't go." Suddenly all four alleys were filled with Naruto's save a circle at the junction where the four stood. Then the Naruto that first spoke stepped forward and walked up the group.

"Still looking for me I see, even after I told you it was pointless. Fuzzy brows," Naruto said as he turned to lee. "Long time no see. However, we are still left with the fact that even after this little encounter you will not stop trying to find me since your under Kurenai-sensei's orders are you not?"

"Yes but how did you know."

"One of me was there when Kurenai-sensei gave out the original plan for the day remember?" Naruto said as he looked at Tenten.

"Oh yeah." Tenten replied feeling kind of foolish.

"I'm only going to ask this once. Please just let me be, I promise I haven't run away from the village or done anything stupid, I just need time to be alone. Should you continue your search however I have some good news and some bad news." Naruto said. "The good news is I am one of the easiest people in the world to find, hundreds of people could all find me at the same time, The problem there in lies finding the real me." Suddenly all the Naruto's but the one talking poofed away. "You know the one that doesn't poof" He said, and then he too poofed out of existence.

"This is not a good situation." Lee said. "Not only do we still have no leads as to the whereabouts of Naruto, but he's also now aware of our search and will likely be trying to avoid us."

"Doesn't matter." Shino spoke up. "I do not think it would be wise to find him anyway, it is obvious that the party last night left Naruto in less than a fine mood. Our only hope previously of returning to training with Naruto would require that we talk him into it. In his current state I fear words would be useless."

"Well then we force him to come back." Tenten said.

"Defiantly not a good Idea." Shino said. "Even with the four of us I doubt we could over power him."

"Why not, He just a chuunin like all of us."

"No, his rank is chuunin, his power, more like high class jounin."

"I'm not following."

"Let me put it like this, Do you think the four of us could over power Kakashi, Kurenai, or Gui?" Shino asked.

"No, probably not." Tenten said truthfully.

"Then overpowering Naruto is out of the question. My suggestion is we split up and search, if you find the real Naruto try to persuade him into coming to training." Shino finished.

Up on top of one of the buildings Naruto sat listening to the entire conversation. _It would seem Shino is on top of things. _He thought. _Never the less they continue there search, I'll have to go tell boss to send them some more shadow clones to waist the day on. _With that thought he too poofed from the top of the building

(Elsewhere in Konoha)

Naruto sighed as he looked at the trees around him; all the ones in front of him were covered with needles except for where he had already marked for them to miss. The trees behind him however the areas he was supposed to miss were covered with needles. This meant that if his allies were behind him he couldn't use this jutsu because he couldn't stop it from hitting them

"Damn, its right about now the beakuugan would be useful." Naruto said

"You should wait for Jiraiya Naruto, It's not like that's a easy jutsu, its going to take time. Why don't you work on that ace of yours?" Kyuubi said, Naruto Let her out just for company sometimes, but right now she was helping him train. Suddenly he felt the last shadow clone fall away. "So there still going to keep searching for me, Alright." He said as he created a bunch of shadow clones, "You know what to do." And with that they all took off towards Konoha.

(Back with Kurenai)

In the time her students were gone Kurenai had nothing to do, so for the moment she found herself wandering through the park. _ I'm getting in too deep, there are too many complications on this team, tactically the skills and abilities of the people who make up this squad are a dream team, Emotionally there a time bomb, I don't know haw much longer I'm going to be able to hold this together. _She thought as she sat down on a bench. _I've got a 16 year old girl who I actually think is in real honest to god love, a 16 year old boy who has a grudge with this village like I've never seen, and conveniently the power to destroy it, and an emotionless Abarume who's only true hatred it instability, and lets face it there is anyone on this team that could be classified 'stable'_ She sighed as she let her head fall back. "What am I gonna do?" she asked to no one.

"Things are going that good huh?" Came a voice from the path. She looked up to see Kakashi walking toward her. "Mind if I have a seat?" He asked.

"Sure," she said as she scooted over, "When did they let you out?"

"A couple of days ago, so besides the obvious what's got you so out of whack?"

"Its life really, I've got so many complications on this team that I swear the gods couldn't keep up." Kurenai replied.

"I know the feeling, whoever has Naruto on there team seems to have bad luck that way. I had a 13 year old girl that could do nothing but fawn over Sasuke, A 13 year old boy that's only goal in life was to be recognized, and a 13 year old Uchiha that hated everything and could think of nothing but killing his brother." Kakashi said. "Don't worry though after a while you get used to it."

"I really don't need your humor right now Kakashi, how did you do it." She paused as she saw Kakashi's face fall.

"I didn't, I couldn't, in case you don't remember team 7 train wrecked. Two of my student made assassination attempts on the other, two of them have made a go at completely destroying Konoha, one of them turned traitor, and for the most part it ruined all threes lives." Kakashi said, his face still downcast "But don't worry about it, the only advice I can give you is to take all the problems one at a time." He said standing up. "I have to go though; _Make out Tactics _is going on sail today."

"Wait," Kurenai said "Naruto ran away, I know he is still in Konoha but I have no clue where to find him, any ideas?"

"Huh, Check on top of the hokage monument, when he was younger he would always go sit on the fourths head, I don't know why but while he was there he never spoke, or moved. It kind of looked like he was frozen in time; anyway that's where I would put my money."

"Alright thanks."

"Later" He said as he walked away

_Well _Kurenai thought as she looked at her watch, _I guess I should get back to the training fields. _ So she reluctantly pulled herself off the bench and got to thinking about life, one problem at a time, just as Kakashi had said._ Curse Hinata having boy trouble, _she thought. _As much as I hate to say it I was never one that was good with love, I wonder if I could send her to Tsunade for help… No, come to think of it she would probably just give the girl a bottle of sake and tell her to wash it away, she was never lucky with love ether. Come to think of it she was never lucky period. Shinzune? No she still can't pull up the guts to talk to Iruka. Ha, I still can't believe Ino and Sakura told the whole town but Iruka._ _Looks like I'm on my own. _As her thoughts rambled on time gave way and before she knew it she was standing back at the training field.

Not a mere thirty seconds later the four chuunin jumped down from the trees and landed in front of her, obviously without Naruto.

"You have my apologies Kurenai-sensei" Shino spoke up "We were unable to locate Naruto."

"Don't worry about it, that will be all for training today, Dismissed." She said still half buried in her thoughts.

Tenten, Shino and lee Jumped away in the direction of There respective houses while Hinata stayed behind. She eyed Kurenai up and down and instantly knew that something was off.

"Kurenai-sensei, a-are you o-ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, just a little bit off." Kurenai replied. "I believe I promised to help you find Naruto this evening." Hinata just nodded her head. "Well then off we go."

"W-wait, do you k-know where N-Naruto-kun is?" Hinata asked.

"No, but I do have a pretty good Idea." She said as she hopped into the trees and turned around to face Hinata. "Well are you coming or not?"

With a smile Hinata too jumped into the trees and took off behind Kurenai. After A good ten minutes the two found themselves at the base of the hokage monument and Kurenai stopped. "Wait for a second Hinata. We don't want him to know were coming or he might leave." With out hesitation she put up a genjutsu to hide them and they continued on there way soon landing on a branch with an overhead view of the fourths head, Sure enough, Naruto was just sitting there, staring out into nothing, never moving just like Kakashi said.

"Kurenai-sensei, y-you n-never told me w-what I s-should do." Hinata said worried.

"Just go out there and talk with him."

"W-what, I can't do that."

"Hinata, all you have to do is…"

"Are you two going to stand there all day, or are you going to treat me like an adult, and at least tell me what you want." Came Naruto's voice from the ground. Knowing they were caught Kurenai dispelled the genjutsu around them and the two hopped out of the tree.

"How did you know we were there?" Kurenai asked.

"I am neither blind nor stupid, I know genjutsu is my weakness and I am quite good at finding ways around it. I saw you at the beginning of training when Tenten and lee showed up, I saw Hinata and the others go on a wild goose chase at Ichkaru's, I saw you talking to Kakashi on the park bench, I saw you put up your genjutsu at the bottom of the mountain." Naruto said as he turned around so they could see the crosshairs in his eyes. "If you think sneaking up on your average everyday ninja is hard, keep trying to sneak up on me."

Kurenai hated to admit it but he was right, Sneaking up on Naruto was like sneaking up on a Hyuuga.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure this fine evening?" Naruto asked.

"Well we can start with the fact that you skipped training." Kurenai said

"Well that one was pretty obvious, never the less I wasn't speaking to you, and I know why you're here. Hinata, that leaves you, you've already been searching for me today, tell me why after you were allowed to go home would you waist your time looking for me?"

Hinata Pulled her head down in a blush, but soon thought of something believable, like the truth. "We w-were worried a-about you N-Naruto-kun." She said.

"Well, don't worry about me. I appreciate the concern but I just need some time to be alone." Naruto said as he walked back to his previous spot and sat back down.

It was then Hinata did something so un-Hinata Kurenai swore the stars must have aligned or something. Hinata walked up and sat down beside Naruto. "It's not good to be a-alone all the time Naruto-kun, but if you i-insist, do you think you might be able to try being alone with me?" She said.

Naruto turned with a look of surprise, Kurenai's jaw pretty well hit the ground, and after Hinata realized what she just said she quite literally _invented _a new shade of red. "Right," Said Kurenai, "I think I'll leave you two too it." She said as she walked back in the woods so they couldn't see and masked her presence, and then she returned and hid so she could see what was going on.

"You know, I guess I could use some company, oh and by the way Kurenai-sensei," He said in a louder voice, but keeping his eyes locked with Hinata "You can leave whenever you want."

_Damn _Thought Kurenai as she remembered her very own thoughts from early, Sneaking up on Naruto was like Sneaking up on a Hyuuga. And even worse, now she was trying to sneak up on Naruto and a Hyuuga. "Alright, you caught me, I'm gone." she said to the two as she jumped away. _I really wanted to see what Hinata would do next too. _She thought.

"Hinata, I don't get you." Naruto said.

"A-ano what do you mean N-Naruto-kun?"

"You don't make much sense to me; then again the entire female population of the world doesn't make much sense to me, but you in particular."

"How so?"

"Well, I don't know why, but your always the first one to back me up, the first one to come to my aid. For some reason you worry about me more than anyone else, but whenever I'm near you, you answer questions in as few words as possible, and you always look at the ground and fidget with your fingers like you don't want do be there. You just don't make much sense to me Hinata, but either way, I'm really glad Tsunade-sama put me on a team with you." Naruto said smiling, the sun was starting to go down now and waves of color had just started to caress the horizon. "I like having you around; its… comforting to know that there is someone who actually wants to be on a team with me. It's not something I'm used to." He paused for a moment and then got up to his feet.

"Come on, we should probably get home." He said as he held out his hand for Hinata.

Hinata didn't know why but for some reason tonight she felt brave. "A-ano Naruto-kun, do you think you could stay and watch the sunset with me?"

"Yeah sure, I don't see why not." Naruto said as he sat back down.

"It's beautiful; I understand why you like this spot so much." Hinata said as a cool breeze whipped around there hair. Hinata couldn't believe it, she was sitting here watching the sunset was Naruto, She could not have been happier.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed "It's beautiful." Suddenly Naruto felt Kyuubi step into his mind.

"**Hinata and Naruto sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g …" **she started to sing

_Not now Kyuu-chan, and besides we went over this already. _He thought back

"**It ends whenever you want it to all you have to do is admit it." **

_Do you promise you'll shut up?_

"**Of course"** she replied.

_Fine, _He thought to Kyuubi, he knew it was the truth, and even he couldn't stay in denial for ever. So he turned and looked at the girl beside him, her hair blowing in the wind. _I think i like Hyuuga Hinata. _

"**There, was that so hard."**

_It's not admitting it that's the hard part; it's what follows admitting it that's a bitch._

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And so ends Chapter 8, Remember people I need reviews, the more reviews I get the faster the next chapter comes out. And remember, anyone who reviews gets an imaginary cookie.

Later

Ghost…


	9. Word of a Friend

Welcome one and all to what the 9th installment of my story. If your reading this that means your still with me which is good,. And I thank all those who have reviewed so far. There's more story to come so I'll not hold you up much longer, But first…

Disclaimer: Own Naruto, I do not.

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(Last time)

"It's beautiful; I understand why you like this spot so much." Hinata said as a cool breeze whipped around there hair. Hinata couldn't believe it, she was sitting here watching the sunset was Naruto, She could not have been happier.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed "It's beautiful." Suddenly Naruto felt Kyuubi step into his mind.

"**Hinata and Naruto sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g …" **she started to sing

_Not now Kyuu-chan, and besides we went over this already. _He thought back

"**It ends whenever you want it to all you have to do is admit it." **

_Do you promise you'll shut up?_

"**Of course"** she replied.

_Fine, _He thought to Kyuubi, he knew it was the truth, and even he couldn't stay in denial for ever. So he turned and looked at the girl beside him, her hair blowing in the wind. _I think I like Hyuuga Hinata. _

"**There, was that so hard."**

_It's not admitting it that's the hard part; it's what follows admitting it that's a bitch._

(8:00 the next morning.)

Once again all of the people required to be present were sitting at the training fields with Tenten and Lee on time this morning. They all went through there Morning stretches and lined up in front of Kurenai.

"Alright, since we were unable to do this yesterday, same partners, sparring. Lee since I know you have been dieing to fight Naruto, you two are first."

"WOOHOO, YES, I FINALLY GET TO CHALLENGE MY ETERNAL RIVAL!!" Lee said jumping up and down

"Hea lee," Naruto said, it was evident in his voice that he still didn't want to be here, but all Kurenai could get out of him was that Hinata had convinced him to come. "This is a Tiajutsu only OK?"

"No, please Naruto I do not want you to hold back." Lee replied as they took up there respective stances.

"That's not it, I'm asking for a tiajutsu battle because I want to see how my abilities match up to yours." Naruto said

"If that is the case than I accept a tiajutsu only battle, Please Naruto, make yourself ready."

"Wait lee, first take off you weights." Naruto said

"That I cannot do Naruto, only if I am unable to get by with them on am I allowed to take them off."

Suddenly Naruto was behind lee and he poked him in the back of the head. Hinata and Shino were staring to get used to seeing Naruto do things like that but it was a whole new experience for Tenten and lee.

_Wow, _Thought Tenten. _I didn't even see him move, he might actually be as fast as lee. _

"Lee," Naruto said in a serious voice "Take off the weights, or fight someone else. I hope you take off the weights however because this is one battle I have been looking forward to."

Lee nodded and leaned down to take off his weights. "Very well Naruto, It seems the fires of youth burn brightly within you, you will not settle for anything but the best." With his weights removed the two got back into position. Lee settled into his Goken (tell me if I spelled that right.) stance, and Naruto fell into his own.

"Naruto, What style of fighting are you using, I have not encountered it before?"

"It's something I picked up in wave with Jiraiya-sensei, I don't normally use it because it leaves you in a terrible situation to try and use other jutsu. So I only use it for Tiajutsu battles, this is what I wanted to compare to your Goken." Naruto replied.

"Alright lets get this thing started," Kurenai said. "Naruto are you ready?"

"Hai."

"Lee?"

"Hai Kurenai-sama!"

"Begin." Kurenai said.

Before Kurenai even let her hand drop the two combatants were long gone into the trees. It was just fast enough no one but Kurenai saw it happen. They didn't have to wait long however as within moments the two came bursting forth from the trees.

"Konoha whirlwind" Lee yelled spinning in midair, sending his foot at Naruto's head, Naruto simply caught his leg and threw him through the air. Lee recovered by landing on his hands and back flipping away, suddenly he turned and sent a flurry of punches at Naruto who had gotten be hind him.

Naruto dodged all the punches but the last one which he caught, then he fell to the ground pulling lee with him, then he sent his foot up to meet Lee's chin. (Think like lee did to Sasuke in the chuunin exams.) Sending lee flying into the air. Before Lee could recover Naruto appeared at his side and sent a round kick to a half complete block of lee, the force of the kick sending lee flying sideways. Before Lee could get back his head he found Naruto's foot buried in his stomach. Then Naruto latched on to lee with his legs and started to spin, effectively making lee spin with him and throwing him higher into the air. Still being disoriented from the spin Lee had no idea what was to come his way. Suddenly Naruto was above lee, way above lee in the tallest tree in the vicinity. Then Naruto jumped down at lee with all the power he had, effectively breaking the sound barrier, he then turned in midair so his feet were coming down on lee, and then started to spin, Like kiba's fang over fang except feet first and past the speed of sound. Still spinning Naruto slammed into a totally unsuspecting lee, all his speed and spin transferring to his opponent. Lee's body instantly accelerated to Naruto's previous speed and all of Naruto's spin transferred as well, sending lee spinning out of control towards the earth. When lee hit the ground the very foundation of the training fields shook, along with adding a massive crater to the landscape. As the dust started to settle Naruto too landed but his was much more graceful, like he landed on his feet.

_Impressive indeed, _Shino thought. _I do not see how lee could get up after an attack like that, I know I would not be able to. _

As the dust finally cleared all present looked to the center of the crater… Except Lee who jumped out of it holding his side with one arm. The look of shock was quite evident on Naruto's face, along with everyone else's.

"You are truly impressive lee." Naruto said "The people who could ever stay conscious after that attack are few and far between, but you… you look like you wish to continue."

"I do wish to continue, the power of that attack was devastating, I can already tell it is more powerful than my lotus, tell me, what is that combo called?" Lee said eagerly.

"Heaven's reign." Naruto replied "But you shouldn't continue lee, I damn near shattered your ribcage."

"Agreed, but when you asked me to take off my weights you made it so that I will not leave without a fight, not until I am completely immobilized or beaten will I stay down." Lee said "And if you remember from our previous engagements, there is a place where I don't feel pain." Suddenly lee's chakra almost doubled. "First gate: open" He yelled

_Shit _

"Second Gate: Open"

_Shit _

"Third Gate: Open"

"Kurenai-sensei, I forfeit." Naruto said. His face still as blank as ever

It would have been right about that time that all present company face vaulted, lee included, effectively resealing the celestial gates. "Why do you forfeit just when the match is starting to get good?" Lee asked as he got back up to his feet.

"Yes I would like to know as well?" Shino said.

"Simple," Naruto replied "I am using an unfamiliar tiajutsu and my left leg is broken, Earlier in the mach I was only faster than Lee by a little bit, now that my leg is broken and lee feels like he is in top shape we would be about even when he opened the first gate. So first gate I can deal with, Second gate. When he opened the second gate lee would have become fast enough to keep me mostly on the defensive, but with some more thoughtful moves I would have been able to strike back. Opening the third gate sealed the match, lee would be so much faster that I would only be able to keep up on the defense for a matter of minutes before he beat me, and in that time we would both be aggravating our injures." Naruto smiled as he turned around to Kurenai. "I already know the outcome of the match, and it is always wise to walk away with as few injuries as possible."

_Well there is no denying the logic. _Kurenai thought "Very well, Winner Lee." She said. Within moments the others were surrounding the two, lee had collapsed to the ground due to his injuries, he was surrounded by Tenten and Shino. Hinata and Kurenai went over to check on Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun, your l-leg." Hinata said blushing but obviously worried.

"I'll be fine Hinata, Go help lee, he needs your medical skills a lot more than I do right now. And besides, I think Kurenai wants a word with me." Naruto said.

"B-but…"

"Go on Hinata, if it makes you feel better I'll let you look at my leg after you've helped lee." Naruto continued

Hinata just nodded and ran over to Lee, Naruto was right after all, he was pretty beat up.

"So," Kurenai said "Did you give up because you actually knew there was no point in fighting, Or did you do it to stop Lee from putting himself in the hospital."

"Both, but either way lee is a lot tougher than we see him as. I honest to god thought it was over when I got him in my heavens reign." Naruto said

"Well I can agree with you there, go ahead and go take a break; I'll help Hinata patch up Lee." Kurenai replied as she started to walk over to where Hinata was working on Lee.

"You need some help Hinata?" She asked

"A-ano my bag h-has some b-bandages in it, d-do you t-think…"

"Say no more." Kurenai said as she walked away. Hinata looked down at lee again.

"A-ano lee-san, I've healed you to the point where it's just a few breaks and fractures, b-but you s-should try not to d-do anything to s-strenuous." Hinata said as Kurenai returned with the bandages.

"Can I train?"

At this Hinata laughed, Lee would be lee, injuries or no. "Yes you can do basic training, but no more serious sparring for about a week."

"Hai, you are an excellent medical ninja Hinata, you should be proud of your skills." He said as Hinata finished the bandages.

"T-thank you, y-your free to go." Hinata replied. It only took Hinata a matter of seconds to locate Naruto, and after a moments hesitation she made her way over, surprisingly with lee in tow

"Naruto-kun your…"

"Hey Hinata, I said you could, go ahead." Naruto said

Hinata just nodded. "Beakuugan" she said as she activated her eyes. Carefully Hinata scanned Naruto's left leg, she quickly found where the break, now only a small fracture, had once been.

"See Hinata, I'll be perfectly fine."

"Oh… ok." Hinata said, obviously a little disappointed she couldn't be of more use.

"Hinata!" Kurenai called from across the way. "I need to speak with you for a second."

"Hai Kurenai-sensei" She replied as she walked over to her sensei. Lee took the opportunity and sat down beside Naruto, a puzzled look on his face.

"You look as if you've something to ask of me?" Naruto said

"I do," Lee replied "Please Naruto, when did you break your leg? I know it was not caused by my attacks."

"I broke it in my combo, because I don't do the type of training tiajutsu specialist like yourself do, my body is not as prepared to handle to type of stress higher level moves like my Heavens reign and your primary lotus put on the body, in short they become self sacrificing attacks." Naruto said. "Why?"

"So if I were to use such an attack, because of my training in the field, it would not cause me damage?"

"No you would be fine." Naruto said "Well for the most part you would be fine, as in all tiajutsu stiles the mass of the object you're attacking can change the level of stress."

"Hai… you know what you're doing I'll give you that. Naruto, I wish to ask a favor." Lee said.

"Yes lee."

"I wish for you to teach me the style you just fought me with." Lee said, a gleam of hope in his eye. "As impressive as my Goken is, the power and speed of the style you just used was amazing. As I said before I believe your Heavens reign is more powerful than my lotus, and when you used the attack on me you were holding back."

Naruto let out a little laugh; _I suppose I couldn't expect a tiajutsu specialist not to notice. But I'll play dumb. _"What do you mean lee, I put all the power I had into that attack."

"It was not your power I was referring too, more like your choice of where to attack. Every single hit of that combo you attacked in the one place that it would cause the least damage, I can only imagine the power of the combo if you had aimed for my head with that final attack." Lee said in a surprisingly knowledgeable voice. "Now as I asked before, will you teach me to use the Heavens reign?"

There was a long silence that followed, in reality it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds, but to lee it felt like years. "No." Naruto replied, not even a hint of emotion on his face.

"What? But why?" Asked lee, desperate.

"Because." Naruto replied "There are certain criteria you have to be willing to do and meet before you learn that style, plus I don't really have the time to teach you."

"Then let me ask you this Naruto, if I can meet all of your criteria and I help you during the day to give you time, will you teach me?" Lee said. "Please. I wish to understand."

_Lee never gives up does he, I kinda like this kid, he's got sprit. _ "All right lee, if you can do I'll all that I'll teach you." Naruto said, knowing there was no way anyone who wasn't completely alone in life could learn it.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. I promise I will work hard, tell me what the requirements are?" Lee said, enthusiasm written all over his face.

Naruto's face fell for a moment, he hated to do something like this but it was the only way to get lee to realize that this was not something he could learn. "The first is easy; you must learn to get by in any situation without ninjutsu or genjutsu to help you."

"Already done, I have been doing it my whole life."

"The second thing you must learn to devote is time, once you learn it, the style becomes like riding a bike, you never really forget. However, this isn't your Goken, this will take years of harsh training. It took me two years to get to the point I'm at and I've yet come close to mastering it." Naruto said.

"Time and effort is no problem, if you need someone to back me up you may ask any of my team, I will be a genius of hard work." Lee Replied

_And here comes the fall._ Thought Naruto as his head fell a little. "Finally, you must not care weather you live or die. If you care you hesitate, hesitation in this style means death." Naruto said, just as monotone as before. He watched as Lee's face fell.

"I told you lee." Naruto said as he got up. "This is not a style you can learn."

It took a moment for lee to realize it, but slowly all the gears in his head started to turn and all synapses started firing. "Wait Naruto, if you learned that style with those requirements. Does that mean you don't care if you die?"

"Well, it's not the nicest way to put it, but in the end that's about what it boils down too. Weather I live or die… makes no difference to me." Naruto replied as he stared to walk away.

_I say that now and not too long ago it was true. _He thought as he looked over at Hinata. _Who knows, maybe I do have something to live for. Ahh don't get ahead of yourself Naruto, it will never happen._

(With Hinata and Kurenai)

"Hinata can I ask you something?" Kurenai said

"Hai…" Hinata replied cautiously, it wasn't often Kurenai pulled just one of them to the side to talk.

"What happened after I left you two on the mountain yesterday?"

"A-ano n-nothing, we just watched the s-sunset." Hinata replied quickly, afraid her sensei was getting the wrong idea.

"You watched the sunset huh?" Kurenai said with a smile on her face. "That's a pretty romantic setting, are you sure nothing happened." Kurenai watched as Hinata's face turned to one of shock, with a massive blush to complete the package. "No, No that's not what I meant." Kurenai said realizing how that had come out. "I mean did you tell Naruto?"

"Oh…" Hinata said as her expression changed to one of relief, even if it didn't help the blush. "N-no, I didn't tell him."

"Have you seen him since?"

"N-no, why?" Hinata asked reluctantly.

"Well you can obviously tell Naruto doesn't want to be here, but the only thing he told me was that you had convinced him to come." Kurenai replied "Oh well, at least he's here. Are Naruto and lee alright?"

"Hai"

"Well then in a couple…" She was cut of as a chuunin, who this time happened to be Shikamaru landed beside them."

"Troublesome, you guys are a lot harder to find than you look." He said

"What do you want Shikamaru?"

"The Hokage has asked me to retrieve Naruto, Hinata, And Tenten for a mission brief; she also said that you are welcome to come hear about the mission." Shikamaru replied to Kurenai.

"Ok, Naruto, Tenten, Hinata, Did you all hear that?" She said aloud.

As a chorus of Hai Sensei's rang for she knew they had. "Shino, Lee, were going to be gone for a little bit." She said as she walked over to Shino. "Don't let lee do anything… stupid, with his injury." She whispered quietly.

With that the five took off toward the Hokage's office, it wasn't far, actually they had one of the closest training fields, so conversation fell flat until the reached the Tower and entered the office.

"You wanted to see us Hokage-sama" Naruto said as he walked though the door. Tsunade twitched at the name but then looked open the five who had entered.

"You're dismissed Shikamaru." Tsunade said still looking at Naruto. As Shikamaru left with an unusually daring troublesome woman the blond hokage looked over the people in the room. "Ok, as you already know Naruto, Hinata, And Tenten you all have a mission. In short this is a scouting and defense mission for the fire country on the west side. Your job is to travel to the border to the north, and then follow the border all the way down until you reach the south side, meanwhile looking for anything suspicious, you will return to Konoha from there, am I clear?"

"Hai Hokage-sama" Naruto again

"Very good, you will leave in a week, for this mission…" She was cut off by Shinzune bursting through the door.

"Tsunade-sama, Sasuke's been sighted." She said quickly in an out of breath voice, she had probably brought this news all the way from the gate.

Everyone in the room seemed to have new life as they turned to look at Shinzune, all but Naruto, Naruto just stood, as if nothing had happened, but never the less; he was the first to speak.

"Where?" Was the only word that came out of his mouth, but his voice was not that of Naruto, in fact, it sounded more like Sasuke sounded when he was still in the village and heard about Itachi.

"Hokage-sama," Kurenai spoke up "I think we should tell him, he would figure it out eventually."

"Tell me what, you know something about Sasuke." Naruto said in an obviously unhappy voice.

"No," Tsunade said as she sighed in defeat. "Konoha has given up on there efforts to retrieve Sasuke, He is labeled an S-rank criminal and is to be killed on sight." She finished and braced herself for anything Naruto could throw at her, or so she thought.

Naruto's face turned into a smirk and a slight laugh escaped his lips which everyone in the room could only describe as pure evil. "Wonderful, that means there won't be any objections when I run him though." He said, his tone of voice just daring someone to say something.

A long silence broke over the Hokage's office that day, almost as if sound didn't exist. It would be Tsunade, being the hokage that she is, that would snap out of it first.

"Shinzune, do we know his location or his mission?" She said trying to get the subject out of the way.

"He was seen in ocean country, but that was five days ago. As for his mission, we have no idea." She said

"Thank you dismissed." Tsunade said "Now as I was saying Naruto will be the team leader for this mission, you leave in a week, and the mission will last two, if there are no questions…" She paused and looked to see that there were none. "Then you are dismissed as well." Slowly but surely they all filed out the door except Naruto who stayed behind.

"What do you want Naruto, I already gave a time for questions." She said as she reached for the sake bottle on her desk.

"Indeed you did Hokage-sama, what you failed to give time for was answers." He said

Tsunade's head instantly shot up "What are you getting at Naruto?"

"Sasuke." He replied "I know his mission, and I know what he wants."

"What how do you know that?" Tsunade asked

"Simple, both he and Orochimaru want only one thing, the last stage of the sharingan. His mission is to get it, to do that he has to kill me. So when you round it off, his mission is to find and kill me." He said his voice still devoid of emotion. "Let me go fight him."

"What, No!" Tsunade replied.

"Why not, if I go fight him we stop the fight midway and the threat never reaches Konoha." Naruto said, hoping the politics of the situation would sway Tsunade.

"You will do the missions I assign and none other." Tsunade said in her don't mess with me voice. "Beside what so you care if he gets to Konoha?"

"I don't!" Naruto said quickly. "He could level this village it makes no difference to me!"

"And yet you want to stop him before he gets to Konoha, so if it's not the village you're protecting…" Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Its someone in the village you don't want him to get to."

Suddenly Naruto's fists clenched and Tsunade felt a massive wave of chakra fill the room and then pass just as quickly. There in the center of it all stood Naruto, hands balled into fists and a deadly shadow cast over only his eyes. "You know what, I suppose a chuunin opinion doesn't matter anyway, I shall do the mission given to me Hokage-sama. My apologies for my behavior." And with that he walked out of the door, both he and Tsunade completely unaware of the three Kunoichi's listening in on conversation outside.

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Thanks again to all those who reviewed, keep up that pace and the chapters will keep right on coming. Until next time…

Ghost.


	10. The Garden

Chapter 10 is here, hahahaha. You have all been so kind with your reviews, I must thank you, it's wonderful. Thank you very much and keep it up. Since I received so may reviews I will hold up my end and get these out as soon as I can. Also I have wonderful news, we are starting to enter the romantic arc of the story, as some of you have noticed I have changed the genres to Romance/Hurt/Comfort. This will be a big part in Naruto's past that she will help him through. That's why I changed it, but don't worry, there will still be plenty of action.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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(Last time)

"Sasuke." He replied "I know his mission, and I know what he wants."

"What how do you know that?" Tsunade asked

"Simple, both he and Orochimaru want only one thing, the last stage of the sharingan. His mission is to get it, to do that he has to kill me. So when you round it off, his mission is to find and kill me." He said his voice still devoid of emotion. "Let me go fight him."

"What, No!" Tsunade replied.

"Why not, if I go fight him we stop the fight midway and the threat never reaches Konoha." Naruto said, hoping the politics of the situation would sway Tsunade.

"You will do the missions I assign and none other." Tsunade said in her don't mess with me voice. "Beside what so you care if he gets to Konoha?"

"I don't!" Naruto said quickly. "He could level this village it makes no difference to me!"

"And yet you want to stop him before he gets to Konoha, so if it's not the village you're protecting…" Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Its someone in the village you don't want him to get to."

Suddenly Naruto's fists clenched and Tsunade felt a massive wave of chakra fill the room and then pass just as quickly. There in the center of it all stood Naruto, hands balled into fists and a deadly shadow cast over only his eyes. "You know what, I suppose a chuunin opinion doesn't matter anyway, I shall do the mission given to me Hokage-sama. My apologies for my behavior." And with that he walked out of the door, both he and Tsunade completely unaware of the three Kunoichi's listening in on conversation outside.

_Damn, _Thought Tsunade, _he just can't be reasoned with, like a hokage can send that powerful of a ninja away from the village to enter a death match with an old grudge. It just isn't how village's work. Either way he looked pretty pissed, I should probably go talk to him. _ With that thought she got up from her chair and ran out the door, she had to get to Naruto before he did something stupid. Still running through the hall she stopped only for a brief moment at the front desk.

"Sukakai-san, "she said to the man at the front desk. "Did Naruto come by?"

"Yes Hokage-sama, Why?" He replied

"Which way did he go?"

"Ano I think he headed towards the restaurants."

"Ok, thank you." She got off before she ran out the door. Leaving a very confused ninja in her wake.

(Meanwhile with Kurenai, Hinata, and Tenten)

The three Kunoichis had yet to recover from hearing the fight between there comrade and there Hokage. While no one actually came back to reality Kurenai spoke up first.

"No matter what happens," Kurenai said. "Naruto is not to know we heard that. Also, do not bring Sasuke up unless absolutely necessary."

She received no response from the two, in fact they still hadn't moved from there original positions. Neither could believe what they had heard. But one particular part of the fight kept running through Hinata's head.

(Flashback)

"_You will do the missions I assign and none other." Tsunade said in her don't mess with me voice. "Beside what so you care if he gets to Konoha?" _

"_I don't!" Naruto said quickly. "He could level this village it makes no difference to me!" _

"_And yet you want to stop him before he gets to Konoha, so if it's not the village you're protecting…" Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Its someone in the village you don't want him to get to." _

(End flashback)

Hinata found herself slowly being shaken from her thoughts.

"Hinata, Hinata." She heard as she pulled herself back into the conscious world

"Hai…" She said as she looked around. Somehow they were all out on the street now. "What happened?" She asked

"You blanked." Tenten replied, "It's been like five minutes. Don't worry about it, it took me some time to snap out of it too."

"D-did that really j-just happen, w-with N-Naruto-kun."

"As much as I hate to say it, it did." Kurenai said. "Did you hear me say Naruto is not to know we heard that?"

"Hai…" Hinata replied as she let her head drop. _Naruto… _She thought, but her mind would not let her go any further. She was so worried his name just kept repeating in her head.

Looking down at Hinata who had already zoned again Kurenai did the best thing she could do in the current situation. She decided that was enough, they all had too much to think about. "Hinata, you go ahead home and get some rest." She said "Tenten, will you do me a favor and go tell Lee and Shino that Training is over?" she watched as Tenten nodded in reply.

"What are you going to do?" Tenten asked.

Kurenai sighed but gave her answer. "I need to go talk to Tsunade."

(with Naruto)

_Oh well, _Thought Naruto as he walked into Ichkaru's _I had to try, I'm just praying I'm wrong. _ Right about then Ayame caught sight on the #1 customer.

"Hey Naruto, what will it be today?" Ayame asked

"Nothing right now thanks, I'm just thinking."

"Ok, call me if you want anything" _Naruto not want ramen!?!?!?!? I don't know who that is but that can't be Naruto. _Ayame added in her mind.

At about that time Tsunade walked by out side. Took a peek in and spotted Naruto. Without a moments hesitation she walked up to the boy.

"Mind if I sit down?" Tsunade asked.

"You shouldn't ask stupid questions Tsunade-sama, even if I said no you would sit down anyway." Naruto said without turning around.

"Good point," Tsunade said as she took a seat. "Naruto… I know you want to go after Sasuke. But try to understand that the hokage can't send ninja away for unnecessary battles. Your going to have to learn this stuff to if you're ever going to be hokage after me."

"A load of bullshit if ever I heard it." Naruto said as he turned to face Tsunade. "You never once thought I could do that and you know it."

"What, Naruto when I gave you that necklace I was saying you had the talent to become hokage." Tsunade said back.

"No you didn't," Naruto shot back "you gave me this necklace because you thought there was no way in hell a talent less brat like myself could master the resengan. In fact, you are one of the most self contradicting people I have ever met. You say I could become hokage, but since the day you took up the position the only missions I've had are the ones you knew I would go on anyway, or you were out of ninja, same thing with Hinata and Choji. If there was any possible way to send someone else you did."

"Naruto…" Was all Tsunade could get out, knowing he was right, although it wasn't for his lack of skill. Naruto's energy tended to be bad for political situations.

"Whatever, that's all in the past. But I want to make one thing very clear to you Tsunade-sama. If anyone on team 8 gets put in harms way over something you wouldn't let me prevent… You had better hope Sasuke kills me before I see you again, because there is no army on earth nor god himself that will be able to save you." And with that Naruto got up out his seat and walked out of the restaurant. Tsunade unable to move from the seat behind him. And with that he took off towards the training fields.

Kurenai was rounding off into the restaurant district; the man at the desk had said this was where the hokage had gone off too. As she took the corner she had just enough time to see Naruto walk out of Ichkaru's.

"Naruto!" she yelled trying to get the young blonds attention.

The young blond in question turned to see Kurenai walking towards him. "Hey, Kurenai-Sensei, sorry for jumping a couple of minutes of training like that, I needed so time to think." He said.

"Sasuke?" Kurenai questioned.

"Yeah, but I'm cool so I'm going to head back to the training grounds."

"Actually I ended practice early today so you can go ahead home, but first, do you know where Tsunade-sama went?" She watched his eyes grow cold at the statement

"Yeah," he said. "She's still in there." He pointed to Ichkaru's and then took off.

_Well that actually went much better than expected_ She thought as she walked into the restaurant, it was to no surprise that she found Tsunade ordering a bottle of sake. She decided she mine as well, she wasn't really a drinker, but every now and then she let herself have a couple. "Ayame-Chan." She said as she took a seat next to the hokage. "Make that two."

"Hai, Kurenai-sama. Don't see you in here much, what's the occasion?" She said trying to strike up a conversation.

"Nothing really, just stopped by to talk to the hokage."

"Alright, the sake will be out in a minute."

As Ayame walked away the blond hokage turned towards Kurenai. Although be it with a sigh, she was actually holding up the hokage act pretty well. "You need to speak with me Kurenai?"

"He's a handful isn't he?" Kurenai said. And of course Tsunade instantly knew who she was talking about.

"Yes, yes he is. The kids got guts like I haven't ever seen and a loyalty to his friends to boot." She said as Ayame arrived with the sake. Tsunade took no hesitation in pouring herself a glass and downing it.

"Interesting statement." Kurenai pointed out.

"Yeah, listen I don't know what you've done to Naruto, but I hope you keep on doing it, he actually cares about team 8 now, and while he only cares about team 8, it's a big step up from him caring about nobody." She said as she downed another glass of sake.

"You wouldn't know it by looking at him, Naruto has a straight face that would put the Abarume to shame." She said "He is like a black hole devoid of emotion all together."

"Don't worry about," Tsunade said with a smile. "He just threatened my life for the safety of your team. Trust me, he cares."

Kurenai's eyes went wide at the statement, threaten the life of a hokage, even crazier your own villages hokage. "Guts indeed." Kurenai said without thinking, though she was relieved to finally know that Naruto did actually consider them friends.

"Yes, Guts indeed."

(with Naruto)

Naruto found himself aimlessly walking down the street, his mind so immersed in thought that he walked right into someone and didn't even notice. The collision knocked both parties out of there thoughts and Naruto awoke to a sea of raven hair and the smell of lavender filling his mind. It did not take long for him to determine who it was he had run into. "Sorry Hinata-Chan. I wasn't watching where I was going."

Hinata however was frozen into her current position with a blush to match. But when she did snap out of it she smiled when she realized Naruto had added Chan to her name. Of course this did nothing to help the blush, but that was just details. "A-ano, don't worry about it N-Naruto kun, I wasn't watching ether." She replied.

"Nonsense, I insist I make up for it, Kurenai gave us the day off I figure we can find something to do with it." Naruto said with a smile, it was amazing, just being around her mad him feel like there wasn't a care in the world. How she did it he would never know, but then again neither would she. "come on, I'm sure we can find something to take our mind off things. Would you be so kind as to join me?"

"A-ano…" it took a minute to process that Naruto was asking her come along. But just like on the hokage monument, being around him made her feel brave. "Sure Naruto-kun, I'd like that."

"Very well it's settled then, now I said I would make it up and I will, where do you want to go Hinata the choice is yours." Naruto said.

Hinata thought for a moment and then brilliance hit her like a ton of bricks. "Naruto-kun, follow me." She said as she grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him the other way. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that she had been the one to grab his hand, but nevertheless she wasn't letting go if she didn't have too. Granite this wasn't really her dream, her dream was much more intement and required marriage, but for now she was more than willing to settle with this, after all, she was far closer to her love than she ever actually thought she would be.

Naruto too was caught off guard, but allowed himself to be dragged off by Hinata. He kept thinking that if Jiraiya saw this he would never be able to live it down, but he was going to enjoy the moment, no matter how funny it looked. "Hinata where are we going?" Naruto said running alongside the girl he knew he loved.

"Just trust me." Hinata said pulling him around another turn. As the two rounded the next bend Naruto instantly knew where they were, they were turning into the clan district, where the Hyuuga, and the old Uchiha estates were, along with a few others, but He didn't know much about those. Indeed it was a far nicer area than the rest of the village, every design was carefully carved and even the places that you would never see were crafted into beautiful shapes and designs.

Naruto had never been in this area of the village before; he had been to the main gate of the Hyuuga mansion once. But that was not far from the outskirts of this district, he had never seen the actual inside of it, he never had reason. Every tree, every garden was so perfect Naruto would have sworn they were an illusion, to maintain anything at that level of perfection would require daily maintenance. Naruto just could not wrap his head around spending so much time on something so worthless. Especially since no one really came down these roads. Suddenly he felt Hinata stop in front of him and he found himself look at a normal size gate with the Hyuuga symbol on it. It most defiantly was not the main gate however; the main gate was much grander. Never the less there were two guards here as well.

"Good afternoon Hinata-sama, may we be of assistance?" Said the one to the left.

"Good afternoon Hisiku." Hinata replied, "We just need to get in."

The two guards eyed Naruto up and down knowing very well who he was, but if Hinata was inviting him in, they had no grounds to stop her. "Very well, anything for Hinata-sama." They said as one of them forced chakra into the gate, causing it to open. As Hinata and Naruto walk in he was instantly caught off his guard. The shear size of the place was unreal, to think that it belonged to only one family. But keeping in step with Hinata he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"_Hinata, I don't think I should be here." _ Hinata turned to look at Naruto in surprise, why shouldn't he be here, Shino was here all the time.

"you said I could pick anywhere right?" Hinata replied.

"Yes… but-"

"No buts," Hinata interrupted him. Determined that she was going to spend the day with Naruto and make sure he remembered it. She had thrown all caution to the wind and she was going to impress her Naruto-kun today if she had to blow up Konoha to do it. (figuratively speaking of course.)

Naruto in turn put up a smile, wondering secretly in his head if he should have said the word _anywhere. _He had never seen Hinata like this, but still for once she seemed… happy. They began to move again and Hinata pulled Naruto off into one of the main buildings, it was obvious that Hinata had taken the way many times. To anyone who had not been the indoors were like a great maze and Hinata was weaving through them not only without difficulty, but in rapid step. It would not take long an Hinata stopped at a door. "Naruto-kun." She said

"Yeah."

"Were here," she said as she drew back the doors and stepped into the sunlight, what hit Naruto at that moment was a wave of brilliance. The doors had opened up into the Hyuuga gardens and Naruto found himself stepping out into the sunlight as well. Beautiful did not begin to describe what he was looking at now, in fact, in comparison to this the outside looked trashed. A cobblestone path weaved through the very heart of the garden as did a couple of streams. Every where you turned there was something else to see.

Slowly Hinata lead Naruto out into the garden, careful to stay on the path, and the two stepped into a gazebo that was the centerpiece of the entire place. Hinata almost instantly took a seat but Naruto could not help looking around. After he had gotten a good look at the place however he took a seat beside Hinata.

"This place is amazing Hinata-Chan, but I have just one question," Naruto said still looking around the garden. "Why bring me here? We could have gone anywhere you wanted to go and you chose to come back to your house. The logic doesn't make much sense to me."

Hinata froze, she hadn't though of a way to answer that if it came up, she couldn't tell him the truth. The truth in itself was that when she was young this place had always made her feel better, and she hoped it would do the same for him after his fight with Tsunade, but she wasn't supposed to know about that. "Well, this place special to me." She heard herself say. "You were willing to share your special place with me, I figure it was only right that I do the same." She finished with a blush, and praying that Naruto would accept that and drop the question.

"Cool, thanks Hinata-Chan." He replied. Hinata herself took a deep breath and tried to continue. She would have no such luck.

"YOU!!!!!" the heard a voice call from the deck. Both Hinata and Naruto whipped around to see Hyuuga Hanabi standing on the deck. "You're the one from the gate!"

"The one from the gate?" Hinata asked looking at Naruto.

"Long story, for now lets say your sister doesn't really like me." He said as he stood up and walked to the door of the gazebo. "Yes," he said in a louder voice so Hanabi could hear him. "That's me." He said as he brought his hands together and did a quick seal; it was quick enough Hanabi was too far away to notice. In fact Hinata only got a glimpse of it, she hd no idea what jutsu it way for. But she jumped to her feet in an effort to stop him.

"Naruto, No!" she said as she jumped between her sister and Naruto. Naruto himself was a little surprised she had seen him do the seals, but walked up and whispered in her ear.

"_Don't worry Hinata, I would not use a jutsu on your sister, that was for something else, you'll see." _Suddenly Naruto appeared crouched down in front of hanabi so the two were eye level. "I was having a conversation," he said as he poked a shocked Hanabi in the forehead. "It is rude to interrupt." Then he felt the blunt side of a kunai to his throat.

"And you will not lay a hand on my daughter," said a powerful voice from behind him.

"Ah," Said Naruto without turning around. "Hello Haishi-sama, sneaky as ever I see. It really is a shame we keep meeting under these circumstances."

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Hello again, sorry this chapter is a little shorter, I am quite literally updating this from soccer camp so cut me a little slack k?

Till next time

Ghost…


	11. The strange ways of the Hyuuga

Well I am back from soccer camp, and though be it with a few more injuries I am back to my writings. Before we start the chapter I want to give a quick thank you to ILoveFoxes, I loved the energy and when people actually express what the thought of the story, be it good or bad, it makes my day, and gives authors a reason to keep writing. Well I think that about covers it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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(Last time)

"Naruto, No!" she said as she jumped between her sister and Naruto. Naruto himself was a little surprised she had seen him do the seals, but walked up and whispered in her ear.

"_Don't worry Hinata, I would not use a jutsu on your sister, that was for something else, you'll see." _Suddenly Naruto appeared crouched down in front of hanabi so the two were eye level. "I was having a conversation," he said as he poked a shocked Hanabi in the forehead. "It is rude to interrupt." Then he felt the blunt side of a kunai to his throat.

"And you will not lay a hand on my daughter," said a powerful voice from behind him.

"Ah," Said Naruto without turning around. "Hello Haishi-sama, sneaky as ever I see. It really is a shame we keep meeting under these circumstances." And then he poofed away.

"Damn shadow clones." Haishi said as he felt a presence behind him. In the blink of an eye he turned and threw the kunai. As soon as everyone settled down they looked to where the kunai had been thrown. What they saw would knock Haishi speechless.

Naruto stood leaning against the wall of the Hyuuga mansion whistling badly out of tune, twirling Haishi's kunai on his finger, and to top it all off waving his free hand around like he was conducting an orchestra. He blinked a few times as he ceased his actions and stepped off the wall. Tossing Haishi's weapon back to him. "That wasn't very nice." He said waving his finger at Haishi. "Those things are dangerous you know."

All present sweatdroped, although Haishi's quick recovery was matched only by his anger at the situation. "What are you doing here, _Uzumaki?" _he said, his voice laden with hate.

Naruto however stayed calm, he had lied his way out of worse than this. "Kurenai-sensei gave us the rest of the day off, and there was a jutsu I was in need of some help with, your daughter was kind enough to offer her assistance." He said as she smiled at Hinata, hoping she would play along. "Hinata insisted that she had something at her house that would be of assistance, and while we were here we saw no harm in looking at the gardens. They are truly a sight to behold, the Hyuuga must be very proud of them." He took a quick look around and noticed that Hinata was picking it up. "I did not come here for trouble, but it would seem I was wrong in assuming my presence would not cause any problems. You have my apologies Haishi-sama." He turned back to Hinata. "Don't worry about training Hinata-Chan, I'll see you tomorrow" with that he turned and started to make his way to the main gate. Leaving the three behind him.

"Hinata, Hanabi, go inside, I need to speak with our friend Uzumaki." Haishi said to the two girls. Both did instantly as they were told as they recognized the undertone in there fathers voice. And Haishi himself quickly made his way after Naruto.

Naruto had just turned the last corner into the courtyard that lead to the main gate, it took a little while because he did not know the layout of the Hyuuga mansion, and he only knew the general direction of the gate. Walking across the courtyard however something not even Naruto saw coming happened. The two guards at the gate stepped up to him.

"You are Uzumaki Naruto, are you not?" Said the guard.

"Yes I am, and don't worry, I'm leaving." He said back. But found himself surprised to see the two guards step between him and the gate.

"We are under direct order to forbid you from leaving the grounds." The guard replied.

"Who's orders?"

"Mine," said Haishi's voice from behind him. "My apologies for there rudeness, we were afraid you might try and force your way out." He said.

Naruto turned around and looked Haishi in the eyes, "Smart, but I don't suggest you trying to hold me here for no good reason, I would hate it if you had to replace the front gate." Naruto replied. "What do you want with me?" He said now very wary of the situation, normally Haishi would be doing everything in his power to get him to leave.

"I want to talk," Said Haishi calmly. "I make it a point to familiarize myself with my daughter's teammates. I have already done so with Shino, Konahamaru, and Suki, you however remain a complete mystery. So, in turn I simply wished to talk to you, and should you agree invite you to dinner since we missed the pleasure of your company at the Abarume estate." He finished with a smile.

Naruto was instantly on guard, he hated people that were good at manipulating situations, especially if they were as good at it as he was. Haishi had put him in a situation where he was forced to accept, just as he had done to Haishi on the Abarume's back porch. "Very well," Naruto said returning the smile. "What is it you wish to speak of?"

"Oh not much, come, we can speak in the sitting room, it is far more private and much more comfortable than standing out here in the heat." Haishi said as he turned and started to walk towards the house. Now with Naruto in tow.

Naruto followed Haishi back through the maze that was the Hyuuga complex, he swore that everything looked the same and even though he had been in it for a half an hour he would have no clue where anything was. Eventually Haishi lead him into a smaller room with a sofa and two chairs with a table in between them. As Haishi took a seat he beckoned for Naruto to do the same. Naruto complied and sat down next to the man. Even he had to admit, Haishi Hyuuga had a very commanding presence about him, and he just falling under his gaze would make most people feel small.

Naruto was determined to make this into something he could use however; he knew this was some kind of test. As long as he kept his wits about him, he knew he could pass anything this man could throw at him. "So," said Naruto. "Lets not waist time, what is it you wish to speak about?"

"Ha ha," laughed Haishi. "Always straight to the point, I like that. Despite my earlier impressions of you I find it difficult not to like you. You and I have much in common, in fact the more I see of you the more I find myself hating you, and yet liking you more as well. You have impressed me more than I ever though you would have, and it seems I was indeed wrong in classifying you a demon. But just because I respect you does not mean I trust you." Haishi said getting back into the mode he was always in. "There is no doubt your quick, both physically and in wit. I also know your good, both in skill and under pressure. You have an excellent grasp on politics, and for your age your powerful to boot." Haishi looked Naruto in the eyes "What I don't know is if I can trust you. You have no family, you have made it no secret that you could not care less about the village, and you have no ties to anyone with the exception of team 8. It would seem a person like yourself has nothing to lose, you can't trust people with nothing to lose, I learned that the hard way."

"Worry not about trusting me Haishi-sama, trust me, I have something to lose just like everyone else, in fact you know it far better than you think you do, perhaps when we are better friends you will hear more of the story." Naruto replied.

Haishi laughed again, it surprised Naruto how loose he was inside the manor. "Both the answer I was expecting, and the one I was hoping for." He said. "I don't make it a point to pry into others lives so I'll stop there, but I do want one more thing." He said as he looked Naruto straight in the eye. "I want your word that you have no ill-intent towards my daughter."

"If that is all you worry about Haishi-sama, than you may relax. I would step into death it self's way for your daughter long before I would think about causing her harm, just as I would do for Shino and Kurenai-sensei. Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon and betray there friends are worse than scum. And I assure you I am neither." Naruto replied never once breaking eye contact whit Haishi.

"That is Kakashi's line is it not?" Haishi asked.

"Indeed, it's the only thing I ever learned from team 7 that was worth knowing."

"Very well, you've sold me. I may not like it, but I have no grounds against you being on my daughter's team. Now I insist you stay for dinner, in order to apologize for my rudeness at the Abarume estate."

Naruto thought His proposal over for a couple of minutes before coming up with his answer. "Very well I accept, Thank you for your generosity Haishi-sama" he knew it was another test, but it was also another chance to see Hinata.

"Dinner will start at 7," Haishi said as he caught one of the branch members walking by. "In the meantime, Hiroku, will you please help our guest get cleaned up and give him something to wear to dinner." He said to the branch member.

"Yes, Haishi-sama. Formal or non-formal clothes for our guest?"

"Formal" Haishi replied, "It is a special occasion to have guests." And with that he turned and walked away as Naruto found himself being lead down yet anther identical hallway by Hiroku."

(With Hinata and Hanabi)

"I hope you weren't too partial to that teammate of yours." Hanabi said as the walked down the hall towards there rooms. "Now that he went and pissed off Otou-sama, the next time you see him will probably be in the hospital." She finished while laughing at Hinata's misfortune. And without Naruto around Hinata's short lived confidence was down the drain.

"Y-you shouldn't say t-things like that Hanabi, especially about Naruto-kun." Hinata replied trying her best to stand up for her love.

"Why shouldn't I, and what's with adding the Kun suffix on his name. I didn't even know his name till now, he's a loser, a dobe, and even worse he's a nobody, no better than one of our servants. And he should learn to respect his betters." Just as her final word came out Hanabi felt the whole room flare with chakra, lots and lot's of chakra. The younger Hyuuga was shocked to turn around and find Hinata with her hands clenched into fists and her head down so a shadow covered her eyes, just like Naruto had been confronting Tsunade.

Hinata was pissed, she may be the shyest girl in the would, but if there was one thing she would not let anyone get away with, it was insulting her Naruto-kun. "It would be wise hanabi-_Chan," _Hinata said putting as much venom into her voice as she could. "If you were never to insult Naruto-Kun again" She started to walk by Hanabi but stopped so only the two of them could hear what she said next. "And if you can't learn to respect others out of courtesy, than I suggest you do it in the interest of self preservation. Because the man you just carelessly insulted is ten times the person and ten times the ninja you'll ever be." And then she walked into her room and closed the door behind her without so much as break in step. Leaving a petrified Hanabi in her wake.

Never in her life had Hanabi Hyuuga ever been afraid of her sister, and all over a comment about a nobody, Shy Hinata had left her shaking in fear. One thing became imprinted in the young Hyuuga's mind that day. And that was when it came to this stranger named Naruto, you did not cross Hyuuga Hinata.

Hinata walked across her room a fell into her bed. If there was ever a crazier day she could not remember it. At the hokage's office everything was looking so horrible, but when she lead Naruto to the gardens everything looked so promising, she was finally going to be able to really help Naruto, and then Hanabi had to ruin it all. "Oh well," Hinata said to the wall. "Story of my life." She rolled over and opened up her dresser. Inside sat he three most prized possessions. A jar of the ointment she had giving to Naruto, which marked a big accomplishment in her life. Her mother's necklace, and a picture of Naruto himself. She pulled the picture out and took a good long look at.

Surprisingly this was the only photo she had of her love; Naruto was never one to take any pictures so there weren't very many of them in the world. In fact this may have been the only picture he had ever taken. Truth is she had acquired it though an interesting twist of fate. On that day of Naruto's return that seemed so long ago, she had run after her love with her present in hand, but when she got to his apartment he was already gone, never the less she had decided to take a look inside. When she opened the door she found the place completely cleaned out, like no one had ever lived there, the only thing that she found to show there was someone there was a picture frame that was turned over. When she flipped it back she found it to be the picture of team 7. She had hoped at the time that it was just forgotten in the moment, that Naruto wasn't really going to forget his past and leave, but it did not take long for the truth to settle in her head. Team 7 was just another episode of bad Memories he was trying to lock away. So the picture fell into her hands.

Almost without thinking she reached up to her chest to check her other prized possession, she smiled as her hand grabbed the Necklace Naruto had given her. Realizing however that she could not waist anymore time she got up and began to prepare for dinner.

"Naruto-sama," Hiroku said as he handed Naruto the clothes. "You are Hinata-sama's teammate correct."

"Yes, but please, just Naruto." He replied. "How do you know that."

"Hinata-sama speaks very highly of you; it is an honor to meet you in person."

"I can't imagine why, I'm no better, I take that back I'm worse than everyone else, I can never seem to get anything right and no matter what I do I always make things worse for the people around me." Naruto said with his head down.

"You are quite modest, just as Hinata-sama said, but I hear great things from her about a man who no matter how tough things get, will always stand back up, who has enough confidence to supply the world over, and will do anything for his friends." Hiroku said as he looked at Naruto. "I hear of a man who's incredible power is matched only by his wit and cunning, of a man who gives courage and strength to all those who meet him, a man that has greatness rolling off him in waves, I can only hope you are everything I have heard about."

"Well," Naruto said as he finished with his robes. "I don't know who this person Hinata-Chan speaks so highly of is, in fact I'd like to meet him some day, but I assure you it is not me. With the exception of about 7 people everyone in Konoha would rather see me dead, and of those about 70 of them would like nothing more than to be the one that kills me. The guy you're talking about sounds like a hero, I assure you, I am no hero."

"Tell me… Naruto." He had to force himself not to use Sama at the end. "Can you really do the resengan?"

"Yes." Naruto replied.

"Could I see it, I have always wanted to see it in person."

"Sure," Naruto said forming the spinning ball of destruction in his hand. "I would show you what it does, but I wouldn't want the Hyuuga to have to replace anything."

"Worry not; I just wanted to see it for myself. Now go along, dinner will be starting soon."

"Ok, thank you for the clothes."

As Naruto walked away Hiroku watched his stride and thought of what Hinata had said. _"If anyone ever told him what I was saying now, he would never believe I was talking about him, but he is everything I have said, you know he can even do the resengan."_ "Naruto Uzumaki," He said to no one. "The boy with blond hair and shining blue eyes, the boy that can do the resengan." He turned and walked the other way. _You are everything I have heard and more, please continue to make Hinata-sama happy, kama knows she needs it. _And as he opened the door to his own private quarters he realized another thing Hinata had said that was right, that boy had greatness rolling off him in waves. Someday the stars themselves were going to part just to make way for that kid; there was no doubt in his mind.

Naruto made his way into the main dining room with little trouble thanks to Hiroku's directions. And as he entered he found Haishi already present. "Good afternoon Naruto-san. I trust the robes fit."

"They fit well thank you," Naruto said with a small bow. "You're here early."

"I live by the phrase that early is on time and on time is late." Haishi said as he took a sip of his tea.

Before Naruto could stop himself he spat out. "Indeed, I guess that means Kakashi shouldn't bother to show up at all." _Damn it Naruto. _He cursed himself _you aren't with your friends. _He was surprised to look over and see Haishi laughing.

"True enough, a shame. Had we met in a different time, a different place. Perhaps you and I would have been friends." Haishi replied.

"Perhaps we can still be friends," Naruto said back. "I for one have more than enough enemies." He said as he too took his seat. And as he so the door opened once more.

Hinata had met up with her sister once more in the hall and the went down to dinner, Hanabi slid the door open and before she took one more step her jaw had hit the ground. Hinata however was so lost in thought she was no longer of this world.

"Good afternoon Otou-san, Naruto-kun," she said as she walked around to her place. "Are you not going to take your seat Hanabi-Chan?" She looked at her still frozen solid sister. The expression of shock on Hanabi's face was enough to pull her out of her thoughts. Wondering what was wrong she followed Hanabi's eyes to where Naruto was sitting. And then she gasped. "Naruto!" She said right before she did the one thing she had refused herself so far. She blushed… and she fainted.

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Alright another chapter here, thanks again to all those who reviewed so far. Hope you enjoyed it.

Peace

Ghost…


	12. Secret no longer

Hello again, its so wonderful to be writing. I'm sure by this point you're all tired of listening to me, so I shall cease my random actions and let you read the story.

Oh sorry I almost forgot to say I don't own Naruto, that would have sucked.

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(last time.)

Hinata had met up with her sister once more in the hall and the went down to dinner, Hanabi slid the door open and before she took one more step her jaw had hit the ground. Hinata however was so lost in thought she was no longer of this world.

"Good afternoon Otou-san, Naruto-kun," she said as she walked around to her place. "Are you not going to take your seat Hanabi-Chan?" She looked at her still frozen solid sister. The expression of shock on Hanabi's face was enough to pull her out of her thoughts. Wondering what was wrong she followed Hanabi's eyes to where Naruto was sitting. And then she gasped. "Naruto!" She said right before she did the one thing she had refused herself so far. She blushed… and she fainted.

Though it was Hinata who fainted it almost took longer to bring Hanabi back down to earth, despite what her sister had said she still expected this Naruto to end up in the hospital. The though that he would be invited to dinner was beyond the scope of a crazy mans mind much less a sane one. Eventually however Hinata did regain consciousness and Hanabi did come back down to earth. And though one of them was blushing profusely they both eventually found there was to there respective places.

"what happened there?" asked Haishi. "That was an interesting entrance, Hinata I know you have been having fainting spells, but what happed to you Hanabi." He said looking at his daughters.

"Nothing." They both answered, "I just wasn't expecting company." Hanabi finished with an obviously forced smile in Naruto's direction.

"Lets hope it doesn't happen again," Haishi said as he turned to Naruto. "I am sorry for the delay in the meal."

"Nothing to worry about." Naruto replied. "While that reaction I only get from Hinata for some reason." He said as he pointed at Hinata. "I tend to get that reaction a lot." He said moving his hand to Hanabi. "I'm used to it." Haishi and Hinata of course instantly knew what Naruto was talking about; Hanabi however was still completely confused.

"Oh…" said Haishi. "You have my apologies."

"Again, nothing to worry about, lets at least try to enjoy the evening shall we?" Naruto said as a couple of branch members came in with the food, Naruto had to admit the Hyuuga ate well. There were more types of sushi than he had ever seen before, there were rice balls, tea, sake for Haishi, cooked fish, and multiple other dishes. It was right about then Naruto was thanking Jiraiya for making him sit through all those damn etiquette lessons. Naruto knew that as the guest the others would wait to for him to serve himself first, so he quickly but politely said "Itadakimasu." And served himself a few sushi so the others could start. He looked over at Haishi who he could tell was surprised he had gotten this far by the book.

"So," Haishi said trying to start up conversation, "You said Hinata was helping you with some new jutsu, may I ask which ones you were working on."

"No problem," Naruto said. "There were actually two; the first is not as much of a jutsu as a skill. Hinata offered her assistance in teaching me an advanced method to dispel genjutsu, I fear that area was never my strong point." He pause to see how well Hinata was catching on, if Haishi asker her about it she would have to back it up believably. "The other was a medical jutsu, I'm afraid I can be a bit reckless in training and with this jutsu I wouldn't have to wait for my injuries to heal normally to continue."

Haishi nodded his head and took a bit of sushi. "And you offered your assistance in this Hinata?" Hinata blushed but nodded her head yes.

"That's wonderful, Hinata, it is always good to help your team." Haishi started but paused as Naruto held up his hand.

"That's not entirely true, Haishi-sama. I'm afraid your daughter is being far too modest, I actually came to her with the problem, and she was kind enough to help. Believe it or not Haishi-sama your daughter is ranked in the top ten Medical Kunoichi's in all of Konoha. And she is the most advanced genjutsu user in all of the Konoha 12." Naruto said.

A look of pride washed over Haishi's face at that moment. _To think, _thought Haishi. _That someone of his power would go to Hinata for help, she must really be improving. _The look of pride did not go unnoticed by Hinata, who noted it to thank Naruto later, most of this was a complete load of bullshit, but the stats were right and for the first time in a long time Hinata could tell that Haishi was proud of her. "The best in the Konoha 12, that's quite impressive, there are some big names in that group, well done Hinata. So tell me, what is it you are helping Uzumaki-san with?"

This was what Naruto had been afraid of, he was a damn good liar, but now Hinata would have to think fast on the spot. Naruto was quite surprised however at how well Hinata was picking this up. "Well, we haven't discussed what Medical jutsu Naruto wanted to learn because he just asked today; we spent all our time discussing the pulse wave technique for dispelling genjutsu." Hinata's voice was low and shaky, but she didn't once stutter and she was looking her father in the eyes the whole time.

It seemed as though Haishi accepted the answer and inwardly Naruto could have kissed Hinata, he could have done that anyway but knowingly or not she could not have played her part more perfectly. It was believable, and most importantly, by saying they had not talked about the medical jutsu Hinata did not have to make up precise details that could give her away. And it also sent the pressure back to Naruto who, lets face it, was far better at lying.

The rest of dinner was eaten mostly in silence, it was an interesting meal. Hanabi was afraid to say anything for fear of upsetting Hinata again, Hinata wouldn't say anything for the fear of looking stupid in front of Naruto and he father, and Naruto was choice about his words for fear of saying something to upset Haishi. All this put together ended up in almost no more conversation.

As the meal came to a close Haishi stood. "Naruto-san, It has been a pleasure having you with us this evening, I trust you know the way to the gate, or shall I have someone escort you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for the Meal Haishi-sama, Hinata-Chan, Hanabi-san. The food was wonderful, as was the company." Naruto said with a bow but looking at Hinata. Hinata blushed and watched as Naruto made his way to the front gate. When he was gone Hinata was surprised to feel Haishi's hand on her Shoulder.

"I'm proud of you Hinata; you are both helping your teammate and improving your skills. You are doing the Hyuuga name proud, continue on this path." And then he took his hand off and retreated into his study down the hall.

Now Hinata had always been known to have a certain amount of light hanging off her, but as she walked back to her room that night she was positively glowing. She had been not only recognized for the first time by her father, but praised. She opened the door to her bed room once more and as soon as it closed behind her she grabbed the necklace hanging around her neck._ Thank you, Naruto-kun. _She though. _Thank you so much. _Hinata would sleep usually well that night.

The following morning came swiftly, and Hinata found herself waking up felling like a dollars. She rolled over and looked at the picture of Naruto and decided this was the day, she was feeling good today. Aw who was she kidding, she knew she wouldn't, she was already blushing just thinking about it. She really woke up as she heard her father knock on her door. "Hinata, are you in there?"

"Hai Otou-sama."

"Your sensei is waiting for you outside."

"Okay." Hinata replied as she looked at her calendar. _Saturday, what Is Kurenai-sensei doing here on the weekend._ She thought (I'm saying they get weekends off of training like the real world.) Ether way she rapidly got dressed and headed downstairs. Where she met Kurenai and Shino outside.

"H-hello Kurenai-sensei. What are we doing on Saturday?" Hinata asked still half asleep.

"Well I figured we would take the day and just hang out as a team. Especially since you and Naruto are about to ditch us for two weeks." Kurenai said back.

Hinata loved having Kurenai as a sensei; they would do stuff like this all the time, just randomly take a day and have fun with the team. It made them a lot closer as a team and let them get rid of stress.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Well we went by his apartment, it was empty. So we figured we would come get you and then look for Naruto." Kurenai replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"This may sound like a stupid question." Shino intervened. "But if we couldn't find Naruto before what makes you think we can find him now?"

"Don't worry Shino," Kurenai replied. "One he's not hiding from us now and two we have a pretty good Idea where to find him don't we Hinata." She finished with a smile.

"Very well, let us get going then."

The three took off in the direction of the Hokage monument with Kurenai in the lead, Hinata almost had to force her body to work at shinobi speed, normally this was the day she did nothing. As the gang approached the top of the monument they slowed to a stop and looked around. It was obvious Naruto wasn't sitting on the fourths head. So they figured he must be in the woods.

"Kurenai-sensei, I believe you need to see this." Shino said from across the way. As they made there way over they saw what he was talking about, sitting on the tree was a bright red target with a small black dot in the middle.

"Not a very big bull's eye, Hinata check it." Kurenai said.

Hinata nodded in return and activated her eyes. "There is no one here Kurenai-sensei. B-but there are a few more targets." Just as she got the words out of her mouth there was a bright flash of blue and afterwards the air felt electrified.

"That was most defiantly an electric jutsu." Kurenai said. "The question is what was it."

"I believe it was this." Shino said as he pointed to the target, which now had a perfectly round half inch hole in the middle of it.

"Hinata," Kurenai said as she looked over and realized she had already activated her eye's again. After a few seconds she came back into reality.

"T-the others are just the same, perfectly round holes in the very center." She said as she dropped her eyes. "Kurenai-sensei, what jutsu was that?"

"The scary thing is I have no idea, but it all ends the same way, who do we know that can put a perfect hole in the dead center of a very small target." She paused and looked at Hinata. "Hinata how far exactly can your beakuugan see?"

"A-ano, a little over a half a mile."

"There you have it, who do we know that can do all that from more than half a mile away." Kurenai reasoned.

"Naruto," They all said in unison. Then they proceeded the way the attack had come from, it didn't take them long to find out where Naruto was, the explosions in the distance gave that away quickly. As they got closer they started having to avoid flying attacks and Kurenai even caught a Kunai, it was becoming clear that ether Naruto was working too hard to notice they were there, or he didn't care. As they started to get even closer all attacks in there general direction stopped, it was obvious Naruto had realized they were there. When they stepped into what they were pretty sure wasn't a clearing until Naruto showed up Kurenai tossed Naruto back his kunai.

"I believe this is yours." Kurenai said

"Ha," Naruto laughed as he caught the weapon. "Dreadfully sorry about that, I didn't notice you guys were there until you were on top of me. So to what do I owe the pleasure on this a Saturday."

"One of the fairs are in town, we were going to all go hang out as a team." Kurenai replied.

"Ah well thanks for the offer but I have training to be doing."

"That wasn't a request Naruto; you're a part of team 8 now. If team 8 is going to the fair as a _team_ you're coming too."

"Look, I'm sorry ok? But I can't waist my time going to some stupid fair, I have work to be doing, training comes first." Naruto shot back.

Kurenai was about to make a retort when Shino held up his hand. "Perhaps I should try." He said only to Kurenai. "Naruto, am I correct in my assumption that every Saturday and Sunday you are out here working?"

"Yes, that's what I do."

"Am I also correct in the fact that even in the days Kurenai-sensei has given us off, you are out here or working in some other fashion?" 

"Yes."

"Then permit me to ask exactly when your last day off was?"

Naruto thought for a moment before coming up with the answer he was pretty sure was right. "Must have been the days I was in the hospital after Trying to get Sasuke back, Damn Tsunade-sama strapped me to the bed so I couldn't train." Naruto said absentmindedly.

All three of the others sweatdroped. _That was three years ago, _shino thought. _Even I was not expecting an answer that extreme. _"That's it." Kurenai spoke up, "Naruto we give you days off for a reason, not because we are lazy. One way or another you are going with us today, you are going to the fair and your not even going to think about training. So, you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

"I'll take the hard way."

"Very well, but you made me do this. Team 8 minus Naruto, huddle." As the three of them came together it was Naruto's turn to sweatdrop, what were they doing?

Inside the huddle Kurenai had a plan. "Ok here's what were going to do, Hinata your going to ask him."

"What?!?!" Hinata shot out surprising them all.

"Its easy for him to say no to me and Shino, but you, he let you stay with him on the hokage monument, he came to practice the next day because you convinced him, he came to Shino's party because you convinced him." She saw the confused look on Shino's face "Don't worry about it Shino, Long story. It's a long shot in the dark but I'm willing to bet Naruto has a harder time saying no to you." She turned her head towards Hinata. "Please, I really don't want to have to blackmail him to get him to come to the fair with us, that would defeat the purpose."

"Fine" Hinata said almost with a sigh, this was insane. Why would Naruto listen to her?

The three broke out and looked at Naruto when Kurenai spoke up. "Ok we are now prepared to take you to the fair the hard way."

"And I'm prepared to resist you." Naruto said Mocking Kurenai. But was surprised when Hinata stepped forward.

_Oh she wouldn't, _Naruto thought. _That's just low, really low, that's like Jiraiya-sensei kind of low. _

"N-Naruto-kun, I would really like it if you went to the fair with us. I-it's a good time to be with the team."

_I can't believe it, Kurenai would actually go that low. I can't say no to Hinata. _Naruto thought. There was a long pause before he answered but he finally spoke up. "Fine, on these conditions. Hinata and Shino go on ahead. You stay here and try to hear what I am telling Kurenai-sensei, no deal. Second Kurenai you stay."

Hinata and Shino took off, they figured it was a miracle he accepted, they weren't going to test him. Kurenai herself took a seat. It was strange taking orders from Naruto, but for the time being she would do it. "And you need me for." Kurenai said in a shocked sort of voice, that plan wasn't supposed to have worked.

"The questions are simple. The answers had better be good. One how long have you known I've fallen for Hinata, Two how did you find out?" His voice was cold and determined to find answers.

Kurenai let out a laugh; she couldn't believe this, priceless. Both of them in love with each other and the only thing stopping them is themselves, and an army of Hyuuga's with traditional clan laws, but hey that was details. "Well, I suppose I have known for about five seconds and I know because you told me." Kurenai said as straight faced as she could.

"Wait you didn't know? Then why would you send Hinata to ask me?"

"Naruto that was a shot in the dark because she had convinced you to let her stay with you on the hokage monument. I was expecting it to fail miserably." Kurenai said through laughs.

"Damn it." Naruto said as he quite effectively put a resengan through the closest tree. "You tell anyone," He said as he turned to Kurenai. "And jounin or not, Sensei or not, it will be a dark day indeed." And with those words he took off to catch up to the others.

Kurenai just sat for a minute, no longer laughing. She had seen the look in Naruto's eyes. It had been the look she had seen in his eyes the day he came back, the promise of pain to any who crossed him. Kurenai made up her mind there. She would have to talk to Naruto later, but she would not be the one to cross him. She too got up and left towards the village knowing full well that the next time she saw Naruto, there would be no trace of anger or any other emotion on his face. Simply that smile that was oh so hard to tell was a fake, the smile that had quite effectively become one of Uzumaki Naruto's trademarks.

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And so ends another chapter, thanks again to all who reviewed.

Ghost…


	13. Photograph

Hello everybody, this like the second half of the last chapter is really just a fun chapter, I read back through my story and decided I needed one, I guess you could call it a filler.

Either way I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Kurenai's mind was racing as she rushed to catch up with here subordinates. Her thoughts most definitely were not on what she was doing, all she could think about was how she was going to approach Naruto now. It was obvious Naruto hadn't told anybody for a reason. She would have to get that reason out of him. What's worse is she knew that nothing would change; Naruto was so good at acting that it would be like they talked about nothing while they were in public, but in private she doubted Naruto would ever look at her the same way. Time gave way and she knew she was catching up, Naruto and the others weren't moving very fast. She caught up with them just as they entered town, And just as she thought Naruto looked like nothing had happened.

"So are we going in or not?" Naruto asked. They all thought about why they had stopped just outside the fair and no one could find an answer, so it was soon dismissed and they found themselves surrounded by the party.

"So what do you want to do first?" Kurenai asked as they looked around, she was pleasantly surprised to find this was a big organization and had quite a lot to do.

"Personally." Shino said. "I would like to visit the food stands, it has been awhile since I have had anything sweet."

"Ano, I could go for food, but I would like to hit the rides and games before the day is over." Hinata followed.

"I've never been to a fair; don't know what's here, so you guys can lead the way." Naruto finished. Kurenai sweatdroped again. _Never been to a fair, is that even legal. _She thought.

"Well, I say since Naruto has never been to a fair before…" Kurenai had a devious smile on her face. "We give him the grand tour, Naruto there is not a game here you wont play nor a ride you won't ride. Were going to make sure of that." Naruto shrugged. How bad could it be? "First however I think food was agreed upon. So off we go."

Team 8 made there way over to where the food tables had been set up, there were all kinds of food from all kinds of places. Naruto went safe and opted for Ramen. Kurenai however went wild. Naruto couldn't help but think it was very unbefitting of someone in her position. Never the less within five minutes she had a plate of dango, a rice bowl, and some fluff on a stick she said was called cotton candy. She damn near shoved it down Naruto's throat when he refused to try some.

"Naruto we said you were going to try everything," Kurenai said devious smile still in place. "Do we need to do this the hard way?"

It was official, he was going to have to kill Kurenai, she had something on him now, and if there was one button Naruto didn't want people pressing it was that one. Despite that he took the pink fluff from his sensei knowing full well he couldn't kill her here and she would use what she learned. Naruto was pleasantly surprised as he took a bite. It wasn't ramen, but it wasn't bad.

Hinata had settled for a plate of dango and Naruto was quite surprised to look over and see Shino literally attacking this 'cotton candy'. Everyone did finish as the time went on noon.

"A-ano" Hinata spoke up. Do you think we can ride that?" she said as she pointed towards the ferias wheel.

"I see why no reason not too, come on let's go." Kurenai said as she pushed Naruto along. The four weaved there way though the attractions until they made it to the base of what Naruto described as a mettle monster. Hinata too was a bit surprised at its size.

"It's so high up." Hinata said in awe.

_The cars only seat two…_Kurenai thought, this day was just getting better. Of course she would have to be serious about the problem at hand later but this was a time for fun.

They all walked up to the man taking the money and Kurenai paid, she figured it was the least she could do with the hell she was about to put two of her students through.

"Four in the party," The man taking the money said, "May I ask who will be in the first car?"

"These two," Kurenai said pushing Naruto and Hinata forward before they had a chance to resist.

Naruto instantly turned around with a look that promised pain later, though Kurenai thought she saw a hint of thanks in there. Hinata however turned with a look that clearly spelled out 'oh my god HELP ME!!!!!' though also with a hint of thanks.

Kurenai just looked at her and said so only Hinata could hear, "Your idea to ride the ferias wheel."

Before either of them got anything else in the man stepped between them. "Please move along, we need to load the other cars." He said as he pushed the two in. The next car came around swiftly and Shino and Kurenai wasted no time in getting in, as soon as the door was shut however Shino turned to his sensei. "That was cruel and inhuman."

"You have no Idea Shino." She said back.

The ride turned a bit and let the next car on, and after about five minutes of start stop the ride began turning, it was a slow turn on a big wheel with a view at the top that was once in a lifetime, it was obviously meant to be a romantic ride for the couples. Kurenai had bet on that, she could only imagine what was going on in the car in front of her, but she wasn't too far off the mark.

Hinata was conscious… barely. They were small cars and forced Hinata to sit very very close to Naruto. She enjoyed every minute of it; after all she was so close to her love on a romantic ride. Still however she was blushing like a ripe tomato, and anyone with the romantic awareness of a sloth would have noticed she was in love, so naturally, Naruto was completely clueless. As the ride climbed to the top and Hinata got her first look at the view the courage that was so abundant on the Hokage monument swept over her.

Here she was, she thought. Sitting next to the man she loved on a romantic ride where it was just the two of them. She wanted nothing more than to fall into Naruto's arms and look out at the view that moment, and weather for better or worse, her body betrayed her as she leaned on her love and rested her head on his shoulder. Naruto turned in surprise and as soon as Hinata realized what she had done she literally jumped off of him.

"N-Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to…" She stopped as Naruto held up his hand.

"Hinata, calm down, I don't mind. I just wasn't expecting it." He said in return

"A-ano, I guess I'm just really tired."

"I told you I don't mind." Naruto said earning a shocked look from Hinata. "I can only guess it would be awfully uncomfortable leaning against the side of this thing. If your really that tired, I don't mind in the least." Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata thought about it, she sure as hell wasn't tired, but Naruto didn't need to know that. Why not, her life had been crazy enough since Naruto joined the team, and it wasn't like she was admitting she loved him. She was just 'tired.' So she eased her body back to it's previous position. Though she was blushing as she leaned against Naruto she couldn't help but feel warm, like this spot was made just for her. It was almost perfect, she would have giving anything for Naruto to put his arm around her and hold her, but she would happily consent to stopping time just so she could stay here with Naruto.

Kurenai and Shino's car had just reached the top. Shino was looking at the view; Kurenai had found something far more interesting to look at. "Hey Shino." Kurenai said "Look at this."

As Shino turned around he almost looked shocked. The angle of the cars had given them a perfect view into Hinata and Naruto's car ahead of them. There the two sat, Hinata leaning up against Naruto, eye's closed, head rested on his shoulder. Kurenai would have sold her soul for a camera at that moment. But after a minute or so the ride took them once again out of position to see.

The rest of the ride went swiftly for Hinata, far faster than she would have liked. They stayed like that all the way until it came to a halt and the man who let them in opened the door.

"I hope you enjoyed the ride, do come back sometime." He said as they got out of the car, Hinata and Naruto walked around to the side to wait for Kurenai and Shino. They didn't have to wait long since there comrades were the next car, and soon Hinata spotted them walking there way.

"Did you have a good ride?" Kurenai said with her all-knowing voice. Hinata just blushed at the statement. Naruto however spoke up.

"For your information, we did." Naruto said back. "I think we should wrap this up fairly soon, Hinata is already a bit tired."

_She doesn't look tired to me _Kurenai thought as she smiled at them. "Ano, don't worry about me Naruto-kun. I just got to bed a little late, I'll be fine." Hinata said.

"Nonsense Hinata, if you're really tired we should go home." Kurenai said. Shino just stood there, being Shino.

"No," Hinata said. "I'm fine."

"Okay, okay, why don't you and shino go ahead to the games? Naruto wants to talk to me again." Kurenai said.

"Very perceptive," Naruto said as the others walked away. "Was it the glare of death that gave me away?"

"Relax Naruto, I was just having some fun, and you can't say you didn't enjoy having Hinata snuggle up to you like that." Naruto fell into a blush at the statement, it wasn't a Hinata blush, but it was defiantly a blush. It was obvious he didn't know they saw that. "Besides," Kurenai said as she turned and started to walk towards where Hinata and Shino went. "We haven't even gotten to the tunnel of love yet." She ran to the others before Naruto could say anything, so he let the comment slide.

The four then made there way through the games, all of which, Naruto noted, a ninja could do blindfolded and sick in bed with the flu. It was almost an insult to there skills to consider playing them. Still they were here to have fun and they were entertainment Naruto did however find a difficult game where you had to throw senbon at 30 very small targets. If you hit them all within 10 seconds there was a golden kunai as a prize. Naruto had to be honest; it was Hinata who had found it. She had even given it a go, but she had just missed the bull's eye on many of the targets. Shino too gave it a go with the same result.

"Why don't you give it a try Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked putting Kurenai on the spot, he knew she could probably do it, but it was still fun to pick on her.

"Very well I will." She said back as she stepped up to the line.

"Wait a minute," The man running the show said. "You are a jounin no?"

"What of it."

"Special requirements for jounin and above, else is too easy." He said as all the targets began to move around.

"Very well." She said. She had expected something like this; it would have been a no-brainer for someone with her experience. She grabbed the thirty senbon and set to work, she didn't have Naruto or Hinata's eyes so she had to keep careful track of the ones she had already hit. It all happened in about two seconds; in that time Kurenai had launched every single senbon at the moving targets. Everyone watched as they collided with the targets, 20, 21, 22, 23… so far they had al it the mark. 28, 29… they all watched the last senbon closely.

_Shit, _thought Kurenai, she knew she would do that. The senbon struck dead center… of a target that had already been hit. "Damn, I knew I would do that." She said as she turned away to her students, "bad luck huh?"

"Oh well, no golden kunai for us." Hinata said.

"I wouldn't say that's true; there is still one of us yet to try." Kurenai said back. All eyes swiftly turned to Naruto. And Naruto himself sighed.

"Fine" He said as he stepped up, knowing full well what would happen if he refused. "Are you going to start the things moving or not old man?" He said to the man.

"You're not a jounin."

"Your funeral," He said. It was all too easy for Naruto. He grabbed the senbon, activated his eyes and before you could blink the targets were covered in senbon, all thirty and all in the dead center. Naruto broke off his eyes and walked over to the old man.

"I believe I just won." As the words came out of his mouth the old mans jaw hit the ground. And he was thinking he should have made the targets move. But never the less Naruto had won it so he walked over to the case and got the kunai, walked back over and handed it to Naruto.

"Boy, with skills like that, you deserve it." He said and then walked back into his tent, shaking his head.

Naruto turned back to the others and tossed the Kunai to Hinata. "There you go." He said.

"N-Naruto-kun, its yours. You won it." Hinata said as she caught the kunai.

"Nonsense, you were the one that wanted it, and I only played the game because Kurenai-sensei wasn't giving me a choice." He said with a smile. "Besides, what on earth am I going to do with a golden Kunai?"

Hinata examined the Kunai and looked back up at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"All right that's enough and Naruto stop trying to pin things on me" Kurenai said as she checked the time. "It's going on three now and I have somewhere to be at four so you guys want to head out?" She asked

After a moment of debate the four headed towards where they had come in. "I thoroughly enjoyed myself," Shino said. "I am glad we came."

Kurenai nodded her head in response as did Hinata. "What about you Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"It was…" He paused thinking of the right words to say. "A passable excuse for skipping training." He said back. "It was a good time to spend with the team, and I suppose since we will be starting missions as team 8 soon we had better get to know each other."

Kurenai stopped dead. "Whoa. Did I just hear Naruto say spending time with the team wasn't a complete waist of his life?" Kurenai said as she elbowed Naruto.

"Yes you did." He replied. "Though I wouldn't call it productive… I can't, in good conscience call it a waist of my life."

Kurenai threw her head back in a dramatic sigh, Naruto was truly hopeless. But she had to look on the bright side. "Well, I guess you could call that progress." She said as she spotted a man taking pictures at the entrance. "Come on, let's go get a picture. That will make team 8 official." She looked around at the various reactions, Shino was just being shino, and Hinata actually looked quite ecstatic, odd for such a shy girl Kurenai thought.

"I thought Tsunade-sama's signature made it official?" Naruto said.

"Fine, Unofficially official. Happy?" Kurenai said back. But was surprised to see that Naruto had no quarrel about getting the picture. She didn't even have to threaten him.

So for once she followed Naruto over to where the man was standing. "One picture please." She said.

"Ok, do you want any copies?" The man asked.

"Please, 4 of them." Kurenai said as she walked over where the others were standing. Kurenai stood at the back with her three students in front of her. Naruto on the right, Hinata in the middle and Shino on the left. Though Kurenai had to admit the picture would look a bit awkward since Naruto was taller than she was and Shino was about the same, in fact the only one she was taller than was Hinata, and she didn't have Hinata by much.

The flash of the camera went of and they all stood to the side as the man made the copies. When he was done he came and handed them each a picture and left to photograph someone else.

Hinata was ecstatic, she finally had a picture with her and Naruto in it, it was a good day all around so far. She looked down at the picture in her hands, it wasn't a great picture, it wouldn't make the cover of any magazine, but it was a treasure to her.

As the four exited the fair Kurenai took off to wherever she had to be so the three made there own way to the park, deciding it wasn't time to split up just yet.

**Naruto, **Kyuubi said. Pushing her presence forth into Naruto's mindscape. ** I presume you have already noticed our Guest. **

_Yeah. _Naruto Though back as he saw a flash of pink dart behind one of the buildings. _I noticed about the time we got off the ferias wheel, but it's not exactly like I can get away._

**Let me handle it, **Kyuubi said. A mischievous smile on her face.

Naruto thought about the proposal for a minute, the job would get done and he wouldn't have to leave to do it. _All right, but Kyuu-chan… Don't kill her._

**That almost makes this pointless, How about this, I work out of her why she's following you, and if she doesn't have a good excuse then I can kill her.**

Naruto let out a slight laugh; he had forgotten that Kyuubi was still a demon. _As much as I hate to do this too you Kyuu-chan, you know I can't let you out with intent to kill. However I don't care if you use force. _Naruto thought as he did the Necessary seals.

**Damn you and your moral fibers, oh well, the glass is half full; you gave me a lot of leeway with permission to use force. **Kyuubi said as she faded from Naruto's mind.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Shino said as he stepped up to him.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied as he broke contact with Kyuubi.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"Ano, Naruto-kun" Hinata said. "You just stopped for almost a minute and then you started doing hand seals. Is everything ok?"

"It's fine, I was just taking care of something." Naruto replied. _Shit,_ He thought. _I forgot I do the seals in real life._

(Meanwhile)

Sakura Haruno dodged behind a building; it would not do to be seen. She had been following him all day but Kurenai had been there, much tougher to sneak up on a Jounin. _Why on earth is he stopping. _She moved her body back out of sight and leaned against the wall. _Now all I have to do is wait for Hinata and Shino to leave, then I can talk to Naruto. _

Seeing Naruto start to move again Sakura decided it would be better to look from above, so she jumped up to the roof, she didn't make it very far however as the moment she landed on top of the building she found herself Face to face with a woman she had never met before, a woman who at this point in time had blood red eye's and didn't look happy.

"Hello Haruno Sakura…" Kyuubi said with an evil smile. Before Sakura even knew the woman had moved she was pinned with a kunai to her throat. "I suppose I didn't introduce myself" Her voice was, dare it be said, gleeful. "Kyuubi no Kitsune, and your worst nightmare."

Sakura struggled against the woman as soon as she heard the name, she had to get away, this was a demon. The Kyuubi's grip however held fast, it was painfully obvious that this was not even a contest.

"I suggest you stop struggling, all you're going to do is make this harder on yourself." Kyuubi said. "Who knows if you're good you might even come out of this alive. Though I have to say I would be quite disappointed to miss the chance to pay you back for your little stunt the last time you and the kit met."

Sakura's mind was racing but somehow she still managed to connect Kit with Naruto. "What do you want?" Sakura said in a shaky voice.

"Let me make one thing very clear before I answer that, I'm not as forgiving as Naruto, must have something to do with my being a demon and what not. To the point, I dare you just to look at me the wrong way bitch, I will not hesitate to kill you right here. In fact, it would make my day." Through out the whole speech Kyuubi was smiling. "to answer your first question, you've been following Naruto all day, I want to know why"

"I need to talk to him…"

"Then talk to me." Both girls turned in shock to see Naruto standing there. Kyuubi was a bit pissed he had managed to sneak up on her, but her attention was elsewhere.

"I thought you were with your teammates." Kyuubi said.

"And miss a party like this; I thought you knew me Kyuu-chan." Naruto said in a fake pout. "I left them a shadow clone, I'll probably get some shit for it later but I'll live."

"Naruto…" Sakura said in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sakura I forgot you were there, what can I do for the bitch of the year?" Naruto said in a sarcastic tone.

Sakura visibly cringed as the words came out of Naruto's mouth. "Ok, I deserved that. And I know I deserve a hell of a lot more." Sakura said trying to pull it together. "I also know that I don't deserve to ask for your help, but I have nowhere else to go." She gathered up her courage and went for it. "Naruto I know Sasuke's been sighted and I need your help to try and get him back." She said quickly.

Naruto Uzumaki busted out laughing; he almost fell to the ground. "You, Haruno Sakura, have balls. Pardon the expression." He said as he walked over and looked Sakura in the eyes. "I have every intention of killing that bastard the next time our paths cross, help you save him? That's comical at best." Naruto paused for a minute and let his feelings flow into his next words. "You know what; it would just be a shame if you left here without any help from your old teammate, so I'll give you some advice." Sakura's face lifted at hearing this. "If you want to see Sasuke alive, find him before I do." He started to walk away but stopped just before he reached the edge of the building. "And should you find him before I do, I can only hope, that you're still confessing your undying love for him as he runs a Chidori through that bleeding heart of yours." And with those words both he and Kyuubi disappeared. Leaving a sobbing and broken girl in there wake.

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There you have it, Chapter thirteen, as I said it was kind of a filler chapter but the story gets back on track next time when the mission begins. Hope you all enjoyed.

Ghost.


	14. Alterations

Hello everyone, sorry this chapter took me so long to get out, I had an Idea for another story and wanted to put it on paper before I forgot it, so any of you who are final Fantasy 7 fans i think I am going to put it up pretty soon, just got to work out all the kinks. Thank you for your patience.

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The following days would pass quickly for the people of Konoha village, and much to the surprise of a blond hokage, completely without incident. Until that is today. And she should have known better, she was never lucky, and when she was the only thing she was sure of was that it would be short lived, as was the case at the moment.

"What?!?!?!?!?" Tsunade said as she jumped up from her desk, her, Kurenai, and Shinzune were having a normal conversation till the anbu came in. "You mean to tell me we have an A-ranked criminal on our doorstep and I am just now hearing about this, and your telling me we don't have any jounin in the area!!!!" Tsunade was angry, no… that's not the right word, furious… there we go. Tsunade was furious, she had just been informed that Shiruke Hazutora, an A-ranked criminal was on the border to the fire country at a time when every jounin in the place was being run ragged as it was. Seeing them nod she dismissed the Anbu, before she beheaded one of them by 'accident'

Watching them leave she turned to Shinzune. The old conversation forgotten. "Shinzune, we can't put this off, we've got someone who is to be killed on sight sitting on our border, any ideas?" She asked desperately searching for an answer.

Shinzune immediately started searching through the book in her hand like there was no tomorrow. And she sighed. "Were backed into a wall already with how short handed we are, there isn't a jounin in the village that's free and we can't afford to pull anyone away." She sad still searching through a stack of papers.

"What about Gui?" Tsunade asked.

"Gone on a mission." Shinzune replied.

"Kakashi?"

"Went on the mission with Gui."

"Ebisu?" Tsunade said in desperation, Ebisu probably couldn't handle it, but no one would miss him anyway.

"Be real Tsunade." Was Shinzune's response

"Hold on a minute." Suddenly Kurenai spoke up "what border is this guy on?" She asked Tsunade.

"North why?"

"Send Naruto."

"Ha Ha very funny." Tsunade replied dismissing the comment.

"No," Kurenai said. "I'm serious, send Naruto, he's leaving today to go that way anyway, and we know he's strong enough, it may be close, but being a ninja is a dangerous job. I know he's good enough, and though he's a chuunin he's done worse before."

"What about Hinata and Tenten. They aren't ready for an assassination mission." Said Shinzune.

"So have them follow the set course and Naruto will catch up." Kurenai replied.

"Can't, the only reason they can go is because of Naruto's power. It's a B-ranked mission because you very rarely run into enemies. It's also however a mission that has a very high possibly of becoming a A and even S ranked mission should combat happen. As strong as Hinata and Tenten are, they aren't ready to go it alone." Tsunade reasoned.

"There not." Kurenai was trying desperately to nail her point home. "Haishi is following them. Let him watch over the girls while Naruto takes out the bad guy."

Despite what Tsunade liked, Kurenai had a point. The plan was sketchy and full of holes. But she knew it was the best they were going to get. "I don't like it." Tsunade admitted. "It's dangerous and it could even be described as crazy. But unfortunately it does make sense. And I'm not seeing another way out of this. Shinzune, make the preparations… However," Tsunade said as she looked Kurenai in the eyes. "Are you sure he can handle it? This is my son we're talking about."

Kurenai never missed a beat. "Oh yeah, he can handle it."

"Very well, Kurenai, go update Naruto on the new mission, go quickly before they leave as you have your own mission to attend to and I don't want to waist time tracking them down. Shinzune you already know the drill." She said as she walked around her desk and looked out the window. "Let's make it happen."

"Hai Hokage-sama" Shinzune and Kurenai said in unison before heading there separate ways.

(At the gate.)

Naruto stood waiting on his fellow comrades, they weren't late, he was early, like 2 hours early. Or at least he was when he first arrived; Hinata and Tenten would be there any minute now. He didn't know why he came so early, he couldn't fall asleep last night and it seemed like a good idea… at least it did at the time. Never the less he watched as a figure moved towards the gate; it didn't take but a second to realize it was Kurenai and not his teammates.

"Hello Kurenai-sensei is there something I can help you with." Naruto said.

"Morning Naruto, where are Tenten and Hinata?" She replied.

"At the moment," He said activating his eyes and looking around. "Hinata is leaving the Hyuuga estate and Tenten is still in bed, though by the looks of it her father is about to wake her up and go off about her being late."

Kurenai sighed at how matter of factly Naruto spoke. "That was a little bit more than I needed, just a there not here yet will suffice ok?" She said.

"He he, sorry."

"it's a good thing there not here yet, you and I need to talk." Naruto instantly caught on to the serious undertone in his sensei's voice. "There have been some… alterations to your mission. So listen up." She said as she proceeded to tell Naruto all of what went down in the hokage's office.

(at the Hyuuga estate.)

Hinata had just left the gates, she knew she would be a little early, but she couldn't sleep, would you be able to sleep if you knew the next day you would leave with your love and your best friend for two weeks? I think not. And so neither could she. That and she loved the morning, people weren't awake yet but nature seemed so alive. The only thing she would have asked was that they come a little later in the day. But hey, you can't win them all.

She almost floated as she made her way to the gate, it was a long trip and her dreams from the last week seemed to find her way into her mind. One dream in particular kept finding its way in.

(enter dream world)

Hinata sat beside the hospital bed, and there lay her love, his blond hair sprawled out over his eyes, the remnants of a once gaping hole still visible on his shoulder. She didn't even know why he was in the hospital, but Tsunade had just been in and the reports were not good. She just couldn't bring herself to face the fact that she may lose him. The reports all said he would live, but first he had to find something to live for. He had to want to live. All they would tell her is that his injuries had caused him to go into shock, which sent him into a coma.

"Ms. Hyuuga." She whipped around on the verge of tears to see a nurse standing in the doorway "You need to go home, he will be there in the morning. And you're aggravating your own injuries."

Her own injuries, she looked herself up and down and for the first time realized that she was beat up herself, nothing serious, just scraps and bruises but her left shoulder must have been dislocated as it was wrapped. Funny, she couldn't feel any pain. "No" she heard herself reply. "I'm staying with him." She said forcefully.

"Suit yourself; just be careful with your shoulder." The nurse said as she left for the night.

She turned back to her love in haste. "Naruto, please wake up." She begged his unconscious form as she leaned over him. "Naruto please" she was fighting back tears now. "I know you can hear me Naruto, and I would never be able to forgive myself if I never told you, so I'm telling you now. I love you Naruto." And wrapped up in the moment she threw herself into her love and kissed him full on. "Don't leave me Naruto, Not here, I suppose eventually we all pass on but I plan on living a lot longer and I plan on living with you, so you're just going to have to wait another 70 or so years to die you hear me." The tears were flowing freely as she bent down and kissed him again, it was to her surprise when she realized that Naruto was kissing back!!!!

Slowly but surely radiant blue eye's forced there way open and looked through a sea of unruly blond to see the girl standing above him. "Hinata…" He said his voice still weak. "What did you say?"

Hinata felt herself fall into a massive blush; she felt the words she wanted to say get caught in her throat. Then like the tumblers of a lock falling into place she realized something… now was NOT the time to be bashful. "I love you Naruto-kun, and I always will, so don't you dare die on me or I'm going to kill you in heaven." She forced out everything she felt in that one sentence.

"That's good." She heard him say, his tone of voice sounded… relived.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"Well…" He said his voice slowly gaining its strength again. "It would really suck… If the first girl I ever fell in love with didn't love me back." And with those words he used what little energy he had to pull her down and kiss her the right way. The way it works when both people are contributing, just before slipping back into unconsciousness, a smile on his face.

(End dream)

Hinata could never make anything out of that dream, it ended the way all her dreams did, with Naruto telling her he loved her, but that one was so much more depressing than they usually were, so much more serious. Normally her fantasies were thing like her walking up the aisle and saying I do. This one was so real, they were never injured in any of her other dreams, and she defiantly never had any other dreams where one of them could die. Never the less she dismissed it as a glitch in her normal fantasy life and continued on her way to the gate.

What she wasn't expecting is she was so lost in her daydreams that she was almost already there. She was about to round the corner when she heard Kurenai's voice, and stopped before she made her way, something just felt off. _What could possibly be wrong, it's just Kurenai-sensei coming to say goodbye. _Her mind reasoned. Something in her heart however told her otherwise. So she stayed hidden and listened to what she could, though she was only able to catch a few words.

"So this… border…" was all she heard Naruto say, Kurenai however spoke much clearer.

"You've got it, be careful Naruto, and remember Hinata and Tenten can't know about this." Kurenai said.

"Very well, good bye Kurenai sensei." Naruto replied, and with that Kurenai jumped off into the woods.

Hinata froze, why did she had to be right, and what it was they couldn't know about. Her worries were soon forgotten as she saw a blur go by and realized it was Tenten.

"Naruto, I'm sorry I'm late," she said with haste. "I overslept."

"Relax Tenten," Naruto said trying to calm the now franticly apologizing girl. "Your right on time, in fact Hinata isn't even here yet."

Tenten did actually manage to calm down as Hinata rounded the corner. "Ano, good morning Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a blush.

"Thank you Hinata-Chan, you as well." Naruto replied. "Now that we're all here, we can get started. I have Shikamaru to thank for this one. We move in a straight line, Tenten is in the lead, me following her, and Hinata you are going to bring up the rear. Your job Hinata is to focus on looking of things behind us, don't worry with trying to watch the front, that's my job. Also I am in the middle so I can give instructions and should we be attacked I can give support quickly. Tenten, you are my weaponry. Your in front so you can get out quickly, While Hinata and I are fighting it's your job to give them hell from above." He watched as Tenten smiled at her part, and Naruto could see her fingering a kunai in her pocket.

It was then that Hinata noticed that Naruto was wearing his armor, though there were some changes. His previous shoulder guard had been blown to bits on the day he returned. So Taketsu had been kind enough to make him a new one. And Naruto had to admit, the man was just as skilled with armor as he was weaponry. The shoulder guard itself was made of far better mettle, and had a couple of seals etched into it. The long black sleeve that covered his left arm had been replaced and while it was still black, the orange flames that had licked the bottom of the last one were now gone. Instead the inside of the sleeve was orange. She had to admit, He looked good… _Damn it Hinata. _She scolded herself, _now's not the time, get your head out of the gutter. _It was then she saw something that worried her, the bandage that wound it's way up Naruto's right arm to his elbow. It came to her attention that she had never seen his right hand, even when he had come to dinner at there house, his hand had still been wrapped.

"So does everyone understand?" She heard Naruto say, she instinctively nodded her head yes. "Good, lets head out."

The three moved out of the gate and into the woods silently as they come, thought all for different reasons. Hinata found herself staring at Naruto's hand as they ran, her mind just could not get off of what might possibly be under the wraps, she decided she would have to ask him about it later.

Naruto of course was intently focused on the mission to come, before they reached the border he was to send the girls on there own course and go take care of this criminal. He knew it would not be easy, especially if he wasn't alone. Putting the thought aside for the moment he forced chakra into his eye's and scanned ahead. It would not do to be caught by surprise.

Tenten… well she was just thinking about throwing pointy things, she tended to have a very one track mind.

Hinata pushed her way up to run with Naruto, they had just left Konoha so they did not need to travel in formation yet. "Ano Naruto-kun." She said.

"Yeah Hinata." He replied cheerfully

"I was just wondering did something happen to your arm?" she blushed as she spoke, but was happy to find Naruto took no note of it. "Its just, you always keep it wrapped up."

"Yeah, I was wondering when we were going to get around to that, I guess I can't hide something so obvious forever can I?" His reply, Hinata noted, gave her absolutely nothing. Naruto however knew that, it had been a planned answer, as most of the thing he said were, he was very careful with his words. Still he looked her up and down, in front of him stood Hyuuga Hinata, the girl who single handedly found her way into his heart after he swore it would never happen, after he had even admitted that love was pointless to him. Thanks to her, here he was, stuck in the realty… and very much in love. He had to admit however, genjutsu made more sense to him than Kunoichi did, and even when he could do it, genjutsu never made sense to him. But what the hell, he figured; if you don't shoot you won't ever score.

"Hinata…" he said as he came to a realization. "I think you and I need to talk. Meet me tonight after Tenten goes to sleep." He smiled as he finished. Today was the day he opened up, Hinata deserved to know the truth. Thought he did not want anyone else in this.

"Talk about what Naruto? And why can't Tenten know?" Hinata asked in confusion.

Naruto sighed. "You remember some weeks ago, after my fight with Kakashi. You wanted to know why I remembered your birthday."

"Yes, what does that have to do with your arm?"

"Until tonight, let's just say it's time I told you a little more about me." He smiled as he saw Hinata's face light up, and Hinata herself was ecstatic, she might finally get her answer. It was hard to be patient after all.

To Hyuuga Hinata, the best way to describe the hours to come was a term known as agonizingly slow. There wasn't even anything to look at, just trees, trees and more trees. Every now and then one of them would try and start up a conversation, usually Tenten, and it would fall away without ever really getting started. The most eventful thing that happened was a heard of deer passed right in front of them. Just because she wanted to get to the end of the day the day itself seemed like a year, like the sun froze in the sky just to torment her. And yet it would come to pass, she knew that, and all she could do now was wait and keep with her team.

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Once again I am SOOOOO sorry for the long wait; I hope you can all find it to forgive me. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, until we should meet again.

Ghost…


	15. A Night of Secrets

Hello everyone, before we actually get started I would like to give my apologies to all who have been waiting on this story, my life, my sports and trying to start on another story have quite well shot my time as of late. To all those who are still with me I thank you. I'll not make you wait any longer.

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Naruto Uzumaki did not like the going ons of the moment as he pushed off another tree branch. He had so much at one time he thought his head was going to explode. He knew within a week's time he was going to have to fight a very powerful ninja, keep his team safe, and fight off any opposing ninjas they may run into along the way. And he had to do all this without raising the suspicions of Tenten or Hinata. What's worse is all this seemed like no problem at all when put up against the fact that he had told Hinata he would tell her about his past. He still didn't know why he said that. His past had been locked away for so long he didn't know if he could talk about it even if he did want too.

In short, Naruto pretty well decided he was F#ed.

Hinata however was sitting in a daydream, all she had to do was wait till tonight and there was a chance... maybe a small chance… but a chance that Naruto might finally open up to her. She would wait on the world for that. Though she well understood that this would not be an easy thing for Naruto, she also knew it was one of the best things that could happen. The hokage herself had told her not to force him to open up about his past, but if he started to open up about it the best thing was to encourage it, that it was the best thing for all of them. Absentmindedly her eye's fell on the back of her love, the person she would do anything for, getting recognition from him made getting recognition from her father seem like a worthless goal. She hated to admit it… but she would follow Naruto off the edge of the hokage monument if he asked her to, she wouldn't follow her father to Ichkaru's.

None the less Hinata had to force her attention into the moment since she did have a job to do. She would just have to wait for tonight.

(7:00 that night.)

They weren't tired, the sun hadn't come close to setting, Tenten and Hinata were ready to keep going for a good three more hours, but Naruto simply stopped in a clearing.

"Lets go ahead and set up camp." He said.

Tenten just stared. "But we aren't even out of daylight and we aren't tired, we could be gaining ground."

Naruto sighed, "Tenten, the mission is two weeks long period, Gaining ground won't help us get done faster, and you should enjoy the break, you're not likely to get another one." Naruto replied with a smile. "Relax for a little while, we'll let things lie for a little bit and then we will hit it hard tomorrow."

Unable to find anything wrong with the reasoning Tenten shrugged and set down her stuff. "Than we mine as well make the best of it, what do you say, stories around the campfire?"

Hinata agreed instantly, finding it a wonderful idea, it wasn't that often anymore that they got to catch up on old times. Naruto too couldn't see any harm in it, so quickly agreed as well. He wasn't particularly looking forward to it, but it would make the girls happy, and he had a feeling they should have fun while they could, something just told him they wouldn't be getting too many opportunities.

So, Tenten set up the tents, Hinata got some food ready and Naruto went out to get some wood. Being ninja's, none took very long in there tasks. And within thirty minutes they were all sitting around a campfire, Just hanging about.

"I like you as a squad leader," Said Tenten as she dug into some food. "Neji runs us like dogs, it's like he thinks were machines. Stopping at 7:00, pretty well having a party around a campfire. You are way cooler than neji."

"Ummm… Thanks, I think." Naruto said nervously as he watched Tenten dig into the food, she wasn't anywhere close to as big of an eater as himself or Choji, but the fact that such a small girl could eat so much bewildered him. "I've never really gotten the chance to catch up, so what did I miss in my three years absence?"

"Actually, Konoha has been pretty quiet, no real exciting things have happened, it kind of been boring." Tenten replied.

"She's right; I think the guard has been falling asleep lately." Hinata finished. "What about you Naruto?"

"Me… I've been getting through it, over the past couple years Jiraiya-sensei and I have seen the world over."

"That sounds cool; it must have been awesome to see the world." Tenten said

Images of the tens of hundreds of men they had killed while 'seeing the world over' popped into his head. "Yeah… awesome."

Tenten completely missed the very small hint of sarcasm that crept its way into Naruto's voice. "Have you seen snow country? I've always wanted to go there."

"Many times," Naruto said with a smile. "Nice place, has a very carefree feel about it."

"You are so lucky. You've probably been everywhere."

"Almost, everywhere is an awful lot of ground to cover."

The conversation would carry on well into the night, in fact Naruto found himself shocked to look at the time and find how it had gotten away from them; he had even become wrapped up in stories around the campfire. Slowly however they all acknowledged that it was time to pack it in.

"Goodnight everybody." Tenten said with a yawn as she walked towards her tent. "Aren't you guys going to bed?"

"Ano… I'll be there in a minute I guess; I just want some more fresh air." Hinata smiled as best she could and hoped Tenten wouldn't worry about them still being up.

Naruto however simply shrugged and replied, "I don't sleep much anymore, so I figured I'd scout the area once more to make sure everything is cool."

Much to Hinata's relief Tenten seemed to take these answers without a second thought as she walked into her tent and fell into bed.

Before Tenten was even fully in the tent Hinata whipped around to look at Naruto. Naruto himself couldn't stand the look Hinata was giving him, it was like a look of confusion, worry, hope… it was the look of someone who so desperately wanted answers, but wasn't quite sure they were ready for them.

Naruto decided she damn well better be ready for them, she had asked for them after all. So without hesitation he walked up to Hinata. "So Hinata," he said in as cheerful of a voice as he could. "If you still want some fresh air, do you want to join me in scouting the area, the beakugan would be useful and I could use the company."

It took Hinata a minute to realize he was acting in case Tenten wasn't actually asleep.

"Ano… that sounds nice. Do you figure well be gone long?"

"No more than thirty minutes."

"Ok, I don't want to be out too long." Hinata finished with a surprisingly believable smile.

With those words Naruto took off into the trees with Hinata not far behind. Hinata was instantly amazed at how fast Naruto was running in the pitch black; she had already activated her eyes just so she wouldn't miss her footing. Still she forced herself to keep up. "Naruto-kun, where are we going?"

"You'll see, I had a reason for stopping here." Was Naruto's only reply. Instead they continued running for about ten minutes until Hinata found out just what he was talking about. As they entered the clearing Hinata knew exactly where they were. The rocks, the waterfall, the stream, none of it had changed in three years, this was the waterfall Naruto had caught Hinata training, but why bring her here, as far as Hinata knew Naruto still had no idea it was her on the water that night.

So she decided to act like she didn't know where they were. "Ano... It's beautiful, is this were we are going?"

She was thankful that Naruto's mind wasn't all there tonight, other wise he would have caught her lying in an instant. "Yeah, I wanted to bring you here because this place is important to me. I found it that night three years ago, on a mission with you Shino and Kiba. I suppose you probably don't remember the story on how I found it, and you wouldn't believe me if I told you… so we wont get into that." Naruto said as he walked onto the water.

Hinata's eyes simply followed him, three years ago she stood where he stood now, and he was watching her. It was so different now, and yet, so the same. She knew she had been blushing since the moment they left camp, but now she could simply feel herself getting redder. Then she saw his arm, the reason they were out here under the stars. She couldn't help remembering that it looked like anther thing he didn't want to talk about, but he had agreed to tell her anyway.

Naruto noticed Hinata's blank stare at his arm. "I suppose you really want to know about it huh?" He asked. Hinata only nodded in response. "You're going to learn a lot about me tonight, some of it you may find interesting, you may not like a lot of it, you already know my past is a dark one, as is my future."

Hinata's head snapped up at this. "Naruto-kun…"

"I need you to tell me something or there's no use in any of this. Do you really want to know? Because once you do, you will be the only one in the world, and I will trust you to keep it that way, what I say here never leaves the two of us. Am I clear?"

"Yes." Hinata took no time in responding. "I want to know."

"Then you better sit down." Naruto said as he nodded his head and walked back over to the bank. "it all starts about two years ago, Kyuubi and I became quite friendly, as you well know. And we struck a deal."

Hinata turned suddenly as she heard someone come out of the woods behind her, she was shocked to find Kyuubi herself standing there. "Hold up Naruto, if you're going to tell her she needs to understand the workings of the demon world first." Naruto quickly nodded his head. "In the demon world there are nine demons, each marked by there tails. Though we are called demons most of us are no more savage than you and your friends, though there is the occasional Shikaku in the group. Our job is to control the balance of the world, and should that balance become too far out of control to be saved, destroy it."

"When Kyuubi was sealed away in me the last of the nine demons was destroyed." Naruto spoke up.

"Isn't that kind of a good thing?" Hinata asked timidly. "Sorry Kyuubi." She added quickly.

"No offense taken, we well understand what we demons look like from your point of view, I would want to be rid of us too."

"It's not a good thing; too much power in one place could not only destroy this world, but many others." Naruto said.

"There are others?" Hinata asked in surprise

"Yes, there are others. What this is all coming down to is my bloodline, it's not actually my bloodline, its hers." He said as he pointed to Kyuubi. "This was the deal we made. I got her powers. She got a favor."

"What do you mean a favor?" Hinata questioned.

"Let's just say there are certain parties that have done me wrong in the past that I want… disposed of." Kyuubi said quickly dismissing the question.

"Which brings us to what I got, I heal impossibly fast, I got the eye's, and a got a millions of years worth of jutsu implanted into my head. I still have to learn them all, but I know about almost every jutsu in existence. And then I got my arm. Because I am not a demon I got this." Naruto said as he unwrapped his arm.

Hinata gasped at what she saw, seals and kanji the likes of which she had never seen wound there way up Naruto's arm to the elbow, and all of them emitted a strange white glow.

"This is my arm now, nothing but a chakra storage space. There is more chakra in my right arm than every ninja in Konoha put together."

Hinata's eyes went wide, could that really be possible, that much chakra in such a small space, and if so why was Naruto talking about it like it was a bad thing, with that much power he could beat anyone. "You talk of it like it's a curse, isn't it more of a gift."

"No… I speak of it like a curse because it is. Your right though, with that much power no one would be able to stop me, but I have no control. Were I ever to release the power in my right arm, its entirely possible I could blow myself and everything for hundreds of miles sky high. And even if I could control it there is no way of know if the human body can hold up to that much chakra running through it, it could very easily kill me."

The reality of the whole situation slow started to dawn on Hinata. She was standing before the most powerful person ever to walk the earth, and the person she loved. "Ano… I don't know what to say."

"You'll say nothing, Tsunade doesn't even know about my arm, nor does Kakashi, Kurenai, Gui, Jiraiya, or Shino. No one knows, and that's the way it's going to stay."

The next words came out of Hinata mouth without thinking. "Why are you so afraid to tell anyone Naruto-kun?"

"Why? That's a rhetorical question right, I thought they called me a monster now, can you imagine the chaos that would reign over Konoha if word got out that the Kyuubi brat obtained all the Kyuubi's powers. They wouldn't be petitioning to have me banished, they would be petitioning to have me killed as a public showing.

"He's right," Kyuubi spoke up. "I need to sleep, so I'll be leaving now, but Hinata, I want you to remember my next words well. I did not attack Konoha of my own free will; you must believe that completely, because there may well be a time when you have to trust me." And with those words she disappeared. Leaving behind an uncomfortable silence.

Naruto couldn't help but notice Hinata's eye's looked apologetic, lost, and then it dawned on him that Hinata was holding back tears.

"Hinata," he spoke up, his voice suddenly laden with concern, he hated to see girls cry, and seeing Hinata cry would kill him. "What's wrong, why are you crying."

Hinata looked up at him in disbelief through those brilliant lavender eyes. Here Naruto was a life like he has had numerous things he can't tell anyone, more secrets than the rest of the world put together and a demon in his stomach and he was worried about her. Slowly, for his sake she pushed back the tears. "I'm sorry Naruto, it's just… when put in to perspective, my life doesn't seem that bad."

"Your life isn't bad, and neither is mine, we both came out to be good people didn't we?" Naruto responded.

"Yes…"

"Then whether we have had it rough or not doesn't matter, because we are still us. Now no more crying ok?"

"Ok… Naruto, do you think we could just stay here for tonight, like we did on the hokage monument." As soon as the words came out of her mouth she blushed a brilliant red, she hadn't exactly meant to word it like that.

"I don't see why not, I don't think Tenten will mind if we take a little bit longer to come back than expected." Naruto said as he lay down next to Hinata.

"It's just like on the hokage monument… beautiful." Hinata said as she closed her eyes and felt herself fall away.

"Yeah, beautiful." Naruto said. The only difference being Hinata was looking at the stars.

It wasn't long before Naruto noticed that Hinata had fallen asleep, "She must have been more tired than she let on." He told no one. Carefully as not to wake her he picked the young girl up in his arms bridal style and headed back to camp.

Hinata Hyuuga woke up slowly to the steady rhythm of a heartbeat, and she would have sworn she was moving, but she didn't open her eye's, something in her simply told her to act like she was still asleep, she later decided this was the best decision she would ever make in her life.

Naruto Uzumaki looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms as he quietly entered the girls tent. She was beautiful there was no doubt about that. Laying her down in her bed he pulled the blankets up over her and turned to leave. But something stopped him, the way he saw it no one would ever know anyway, and it would make him feel better to say it. So he turned around and looked at the sleeping face of the girl he loved. "I love you Hyuuga Hinata." He said. "I love you more than anyone I have ever met or ever will, but you won't ever hear it from me." And with those words he quickly left the tent.

A very awake Hinata lay frozen. Had she heard Naruto right, did he say he loved her? This was the greatest thing that had ever happened, her mind literally could not wrap around so she simply lay there. Then she remembered Naruto's final words, 'you wont ever hear it from me'. Hinata made her mind up right then and there, she'd be damned if she never got Naruto to say those words again.

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I hope you all enjoyed it, lord knows you had to wait long enough for it, for that you once again have my apologies. Till next time.

Ghost…


	16. Darkness Decending

Ok………. I well realize that I was way late with the last update, but I have something to say so if your screen name is Guarded, Life's-Black-Rose-Petal-Gilly, luvinguisagift, or rhapsodicoutburst please skip this and move on to the chapter… everyone else, what happened… did reviewing become uncool in my absence? I had four reviews on the last chapter people, and what that tells me is that no one cares about this story. And if that happens to be the case tell me straight up so I can work on my other story. I ask you not to get me wrong, I love to write and I love this story, otherwise I wouldn't be writing at all. But there is no point in writing what no one is going to read. I'm done ranting now. Chapter 16.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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The dawn broke the next day far to early for Hinata, who due to obvious reasons got very little sleep, it also didn't seem to help that Tenten had decided to be a morning person today, if fact she seemed rather perky for 7:00AM. So Hinata found herself slowly dragging her body out of bed, last night had been a nightmare and a dream all in one, Naruto said he loved her. So in turn Hinata couldn't understand why she wasn't jumping into his arms right about now. Then she realized it was due to the last words Naruto had said, 'you'll never hear it from me' Hinata wasn't supposed to know. That was the only thing holding her back.

Slowly she stepped out of her tent and walked over to Tenten who was sitting at the remains of last night's campfire and eating her breakfast. She took no time in joining her comrade, plus she was really hungry. So popping open her own food she found herself digging in.

"Are we hungry this morning Hinata?" Tenten said with a smile.

"You have no idea."

"I bet I do, something tells me you didn't just want some fresh air last night huh?" she said nudging Hinata. "I say you stayed out for the company."

Hinata instantly felt herself go red. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Nice try Hinata but relax, I'm like you best friend, I know good and well how much you like Naruto."

"Shhhh… not so loud." Hinata pleaded.

"Again relax Hinata your secrets safe with me. But since we are on the topic do you actually know where Naruto went?" Tenten said as she pointed to where Hinata realized his tent used to be.

Shocked Hinata took a quick scan of the area and noticed that not only was Naruto's tent gone, everything that would have told someone he was there was gone also, there weren't even any footprints from the night before, would someone come through this area after they left they would think it was simply just her and Tenten.

"No, I can't say that I do, but he will be back, I have faith in him." Hinata finally said.

"As do I, He's a good guy, although I do wonder what that kid is eating, to be out late with you till god knows when and still be up early enough to do this, it's like he doesn't sleep."

Naruto landed on a branch and threw his kunai simultaneously. The moment he saw it strike it's target he was looking for the next. His target… a species of snake, but more importantly a species of snake that did not live in this area. While harmless the snakes were very fast and very small, a favorite spy Orochimaru. He and Jiraiya ran into a couple a few years ago. With a quick look to his right he saw another getting destroyed by an arsenal of jutsu just as unique as his own, but worse for them had Kyuubi pulling the trigger. He was now very happy of his decision to let her come out and help deal with the situation at hand. Running a quick scan over the immediate area he could find no more, they ether killed them all, or the ones they didn't kill got away.

It was of no surprise to find Kyuubi walking up, dead snake in hand, and a smile on her face. "We really must do this more often, I haven't had this much fun in years."

"Killing is not fun Kyuu-chan." Naruto reminded her.

"Quite the contrary, to a demon it the equivalent of a day at the fair." Naruto sighed; she was always so kind to him that it made him forget that she was in fact a demon, and that for the most part she still hated humans as a whole. "So what do you want to do now Naruto, move ahead and hope to get through it without incident, or do we sit and wait for the darkness to get here."

"With all due respect, the darkness is already here, it simply a matter of when they decide to move. Until then we continue with the mission as planned."

"You're the boss."

"There's just one thing I want to know, was it Orochimaru who sent the snakes, or Sasuke."

"Doesn't really matter in the end kit, and besides, ignorance is bliss remember." Kyuubi said as she started to fade back into Naruto's body.

"Quite the opposite, Ignorance is dangerous."

(Elsewhere)

Darkness was all around… and he loved it. The power that brought such a wonderful feeling on such a wonderful night. He stood calmly surveying the things around him, to think it had been three years in this very spot that it happed, he could still make out some of the damage from the battle, and it was all going to happen again, but this time it was going down with a bang, This time it was going to be big, and this time there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell he would lose.

"I'm waiting for you Naruto." He spoke out over the walls of the canyon. "I can only hope you don't disappoint." Then he turned feeling a presence behind him.

"Sasuke-sama, none of the snakes have returned." The man said.

"Then we are one step closer. Go and inform Orochimaru-sama of our progress." He replied.

The man took no time in taking off, Leaving Sasuke to himself once again. "Soon, after Orochimaru has given me his power, not even you will be able to stand up to me Naruto, and then it's on to him." Without a moments hesitation he jumped off the edge of the cliff. Putting his hands together in a seal he spoke. "Dark angle wings" and out of his back came two chakra wings on which he glided down to the base. Orochimaru would need him for the transfer soon; he had to make sure everything was in order. Slowly and deliberately he looked at the pitch black sky. All the peaces were soon to come together, and the only thing that stood in his way now was a 16 year old dobe.

(With Tenten and Hinata.)

After there previous conversation much had happened, She was proud of Hinata, She overcame one of her greater fears. She had opened up to Her about her love for Naruto, even asked for her help, she had given the best advice she could, but Naruto was at best… a mystery, a mystery with a lot of missing pieces.

Hinata was in a good bit of confusion, she remembered how it felt when Naruto had said those words, and she remembered how at that moment she felt like she would do anything to get him to say them again.

"I'm worried about Naruto" Hinata said "It's been like an hour. Do you think he is ok?"

"I'm sure he is fine" Tenten replied. "He just probably isn't very punctual, and can you blame him, look at the sensei's he has had."

Hinata thought it over for a minute and decided Tenten was right, his last two sensei's had been Kakashi and Jiraiya, neither of them could really be called punctual.

"I am very punctual thank you." Both Hinata and Tenten whipped around to see Naruto emerging from the trees. Both let out a sigh of relief that he was back.

"Not at the moment your not." Tenten replied

"I have a perfectly good excuse, I was walking through the forest when I saw this little old lady stuck in a tree, I've yet to figure how she got up there. So anyway it would have been rude to just leave her up there, and then when I got her down she couldn't walk, so I had to take her to the nearest village." Naruto said, trademark smile in place.

Both the girls' sweatdroped. Had Naruto just told a lie that was less believable than Kakashi, surely even the cycloptic jounin himself, the master of bad excuses could not top this; Tenten was too busy trying to figure out is she should give Naruto some kind of achievement award to be mad about him being late.

"Whatever, what matters is that you're here, when are we heading out?" Tenten said

"Just as soon as you're ready to go, we have a lot of ground to cover." Naruto replied.

Tenten saw Hinata out of the corner of her eye start towards the tent. "Don't worry Hinata," She said quickly "I have the tent, you can just hang out." She said as she jerked her head towards Naruto while he wasn't looking.

Hinata, however much she didn't want to, took the Hint and walked over to Naruto. She had told Tenten about everything earlier, well almost everything, she didn't know anything about last night. But she had told her that she was going after Naruto, and that she wasn't going to stop Until Naruto told her he loved her.

She remembered what Tenten had said quite clearly, she explained that if she wanted Naruto it would have to be her that made the first move, and she would have to have enough confidence in the relationship for both of them. She reminded Hinata that Naruto was barely able to place enough trust in people to be friends anymore, and that a relationship would scare him. She had told her to remember that Naruto had been betrayed so many times in his life that he had forgotten it was ok to trust people. In short she had said that if she wanted Naruto, she would have to stretch twice as far and find a way to show Naruto that he can trust her to make it happen.

"I had a good time last night; it makes me feel good to know that you trust me enough to tell me about your arm." Hinata said

"No problems, if you can trust your teammates who can you trust?" Naruto replied with a smile.

Suddenly Hinata did something she never thought she would, she buried her head into Naruto's chest and wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could, like she would never let go. "Thank you Naruto-kun, for everything."

Never before had Naruto felt himself at a loss for words as he had now. Here was the girl he loved suddenly engulfed him in a hug. He did not understand women, and he wasn't about to start trying. Naruto admitted that there were some things that were just beyond him. So for now he decided to comfort her in anyway he could.

Hinata was a bit surprised to feel Naruto return the hug; maybe she just wasn't expecting it.

"Thank you for what?" Said Naruto "I haven't done anything yet."

"Just Thanks." Said Hinata in a quiet voice. "I owe you more of those than you can possibly imagine."

Tenten chose that time to come out of the girl's tent. _Damn Hinata you work fast. _She thought. _There so wrapped up they don't even realize I'm here, maybe for the better though. _Slowly she climbed back into the tent, best not to disturb the couple.

Hinata was quickly losing herself to the warmth of Naruto's embrace. If there was a heaven on earth, she couldn't imagine that it would be too much different than being right here.

The two couldn't have been together for more than five to ten seconds, for Naruto they were seconds of, ultimately, confusion. The girl he loved in his arms, he would have happily stayed like that all day, but it was all so bittersweet. Unfortunately the girl he loved the girl he couldn't have, and the girl that could never love a monster like him, were all one in the same.

Slowly but surely they pulled away from there embrace, Naruto a smile on his face, however bittersweet it may be, this was still the girl he loved, and Hinata a blush to rival the best creeping onto her cheeks. After realizing fully what she had just done, Hinata pulled away quickly.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun… I-I" she stopped as Naruto held up his hand.

"Why are you sorry all the time, there is noting to be sorry about. If you ever have something you need to say or scream or whatever, you can always talk to me ok? I'm your teammate, and you especially are very important to me." Naruto said with a smile, Hinata's heart bottomed out. She wasn't supposed to know how much he really meant by that. She almost got lost wondering about how many times like this there had been in the past, but then she heard Naruto speak again. "You, Kurenai-sensei, Jiraiya, Tenten, Shino… you guys are all I've got." She saw his eyes glaze over. "Pretty short list isn't it? Hell I don't even have Tsunade on my side anymore." There was a long pause after that, like no one was willing to say the next word, finally Naruto averted his eyes from Hinata and spoke up. "You better go get ready, we need to move out pretty quickly, and judging from the fact that it is still standing, Tenten is having a little trouble with the tent."

Hinata walked towards the tent still a little frozen from Naruto's words, that had been happening a lot as of late, each time she felt like she understood Naruto's past, Naruto said something that made her realize she couldn't even begin to understand. And that's when it hit her, the way to Naruto's heart, would be through his past. If he put enough trust in her to entrust her with his past, love would be no problem. It would be a very rocky road though, no, it would be a nightmare. But if that's what it would take to earn Naruto's trust, so be it.

She walked into the tent with a whole new perspective to find Tenten twirling a kunai on her finger.

"Have a good time did we?"

Hinata thought about what that must have looked like from an onlooker's point of view, and even with all the self control and all the confidence she had gained, she blushed, and she fainted. It wasn't being close to Naruto that put her over the edge; it was other people catching her.

It didn't take long for Hinata to regain consciousness, thankfully Naruto knew nothing of the incident, and with the next half hour they were packed and ready to go.

The next week became very routine, travel during the day, stop at 8, eat so on and so forth, Tenten even noticed that Hinata and Naruto had made a habit of 'scouting the area' together. Another thing that remained constant was that no matter how early they got up, Naruto was already packed and waiting. For the life of the two girls they could not figure out what he did at night, or how he managed to have any energy at all with how little sleep he got. They decided to find out, that was for tonight.

It had all gone down just the way they had planned, Hinata had said that she needed to get some more sleep tonight than she had been getting so Naruto went off to clear the area, just because Hinata wasn't there didn't mean it didn't have to be done. So while he was gone the two girls plotted.

"So we know how this works." Tenten said.

"Hai, I've got it." Hinata replied.

"Wait, what about Naruto's eye's, he will see us coming a mile away."

"I have it covered, if I know Naruto he will use his eyes to make sure we are all right. Which means no matter where he is he will check on the camp every ten minutes or so. I will put a genjutsu not on him but on the camp making it look like we are still in our beds, this way Naruto will never have a reason to look in the surrounding forest for us."

"Genius, are you sure he can't see through genjutsu?"

"Once its cast, Naruto can't see through it, he can still detect it, but you have to be in a genjutsu to detect it, this will be on the camp, not Naruto." Hinata replied. She felt very proud of herself for this plan, she had covered all her bases, if there was anyway they were going to sneak up on Naruto… this was it.

Naruto Returned to the camp just as always, his routine was just that… routine. He had done it for so many days now that he did it on autopilot. First he made sure the girls were safe, and then he made sure they were asleep. One last look around the area and he was gone, he had spotted a clearing a little ways back that was perfect.

It was all going exactly as planned; it was like a mission in a mission. Naruto had left ten or so minutes ago and the girl's were climbing out of bed.

"Hinata." Tenten said.

"I've got it. Beakuugan." She replied as she activated her eyes. "I've got him. He's about a mile south of here."

The two took off without wasting any time. The three minutes it would take to get to Naruto's Position were spent in silence. It wasn't until they were about fifty yards away did they stop. Hinata was very thankful Naruto was absorbed in whatever he was doing. With caution they peeked out into the clearing.

Naruto stood in the very center or the clearing, shirt and armor long discarded he wore only his black baggy pants. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping standing up. Suddenly power erupted from his entire body, to Hinata it seemed to flow like there was no end to it. soon Both the girls were able to make out five tiny balls of chakra floating around him like electrons around a nucleus. Once they formed completely the power just went away. It was like turning off a faucet. Finally He opened his eyes, instantly after seeing the crosshairs Hinata knew what they were looking at.

"Pay attention Tenten. We are in for a treat." Hinata said looking at her friend through the dark.

"What is it, I haven't ever even heard of anything like this."

"I think its Sniper square. Think Chakra marbles of mass destruction at Naruto's command. I have only heard about it, even Kurenai-sensei has never seen him do it."

"Is this his blood limit?"

"Part of it, yes. This is his biggest ace."

Tenten had a little bit of trouble believing that those little balls could be that powerful, she decided to wait and find out.

After a moment Naruto jumped in the air, way in the air. With a few acrobatic flips he sent the first four bullets down into the earth and Tenten became a believer, the earth shook as each hit the ground in turn, Four massive explosions left a 20 foot crater as markers for all the corners of a perfect square. But they weren't watching the ground, in the air Naruto had stopped flipping and the final bullet had moved to the palm of his hand, and a swirling chakra started to form around it.

"He's going to use it as a core for the resengan, that's brilliant." Hinata thought out loud.

It almost looked like Naruto pushed of the air as he began his decent, the entirety of his being focused on the center of the four craters, if powers like this backfired, he would be gone. Naruto's hand came down with the resengan… and chaos broke loose. Never in there lives had either of the girls seen power like this except for the day of Naruto's return. The moment Naruto's attack hit the ground one thing became very clear to Hinata and Tenten, you got hit with this thing, even a glance, and that wasn't just fight over, it would be game over. As the smoke and dust cleared They could make out the four craters from before with one big difference, in the very center was a crater to put the others to shame, Hinata couldn't tell exactly but she wouldn't have pegged it as any less than 50 foot across and No shallower than 15 feet. Naruto Uzumaki stood right in the middle, Hair blowing in the wind.

"One," Said Tenten still a tad in shock. "That was amazing, Two, Naruto is hot as hell without a shirt on, do you think you could share?" She meant the second as a joke, well the sharing part anyway.

Hinata whipped around and sent her a look that would freeze over hell, Tenten made a mental note not to ask Hinata to share again, even jokingly.

"Come on, I was kidding." Tenten said. "Lets get back to camp, Naruto may be a machine but I need sleep."

-----------------------------------

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Ghost…


	17. Attack from all sides

Before we start I would like to apologize for the long wait, for awhile now it is going to take me a long time to get chapters out as I am now working on applying for colleges and scholarships. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but I will work when I can. That is all I can promise you.

Now on to the chapter:

--

Naruto Uzumaki trudged back into camp just as he had every night before. The only difference is this time he was going to need sleep, and not just meditation. Meditation was good and it kept the body at full strength, but it left the mind to fight on its own. He knew that the battles coming up would not be easy, and he knew that he was going to need sleep to take them on, so reluctantly he fell into the bed and for the first time since the start of his mission, Naruto Uzumaki closed his eyes… and slept.

He watched as the hallway appeared before him. The old Japanese temple hall he knew so well. Slowly but surely he started to make his way down it, feeling the walls as he went. Despite his familiarity with the place today it felt so much more serious. It would not be long before he walked through the door to where Kyuubi was sitting, and as per the usual, she was sitting at a shogi board.

Naruto smiled at first as he waked up to the shogi board and sat down, making his first move with confidence even thought he already new Kyuubi would win.

"well hello to you too Kyuu-chan" Naruto said as he saw the serious look on the demons face.

In return Kyuubi simply made her move, the same look on her face.

Naruto however refused to move, "what's wrong Kyuu-chan, I'm not going to let you kick my ass till you tell me."

Slowly Kyuubi picked her head up "Naruto" she said slowly "there are things that I need to explain," In just those words Naruto knew full well how serious this was going to be. "Shikaku and I, were the last of the demons. When I die or when you finish absorbing my power, the age of the demons will be over."

Naruto had absolutely no idea what Kyuubi was getting at, but he made it a point to pay close attention. "So what is the age of demons?" he asked.

"you already know about the demons role in this world , to hold balance, with me gone, there is no one left to keep that balance in check."

"What are you getting at Kyuu-chan?"

"Kit, how much do you know about the color of chakra? Besides the fact that the basic humans is light blue."

"I know when you lend me your chakra it is red."

"do you know why?"

"no, I assumed it was because you were a demon."

"a demon I am, but can you think of any human, who when using there full power, had a chakra different than blue?"

suddenly it snapped in Naruto's head. "Yondame's Hiriashin… the Famous yellow chakra." Naruto said slowly.

"yes, Arashi… the man who defeated me. The reason he had yellow chakra when he used that attack, is because that attack transcended the realm of humans, and stepped into the realm of greater beings. When a being reaches that level, they're chakra will change color, and they will be no longer in the same league as humans. That is what we demons are. long, long ago I reached a level above and beyond what was the realm of my kind. And as such I was chosen by the previous demons as there successor. When a successor is chosen only one is picked. Then that one will be granted the "nine tails" and will choose the other eight to keep balance with him."

"Wait…" Naruto cut in, "does that mean you picked the nine demons? You picked Shikaku?"

"Yes… I did, Shikaku wasn't always a bloodthirsty monster, Power did that too him. But in short I am the cause of all of Garra's pain. It almost happened that Arashi, your late Yondame hokage was the first human to step into the realm of greater beings and as such would have been given the title of nine and would have chosen the new eight. But as it were we destroyed each other before he finally bridged the gap." Kyuubi paused to catch her breath.

"Wait, do the ninth always have red chakra?"

"no, my predecessor had green chakra as it were." Kyuubi replied "but that is beside the point. I need to tell you know that when you absorb the last of my chakra… your power will no longer be of this world, odds are you will be chosen as my successor. Soon the age of the demons will be over, and the human race will keep balance for itself."

"but this wont be for a couple years right?" Naruto said as calmly as he could.

"no kit, this should not happen until you finish absorbing my chakra." She knew this would be a shock to Naruto, and in all truth she knew this was coming all along, she just didn't think he could handle it before. "Now however I am going to make you get some sleep, we both know how quickly things are going to be moving from here on in."

"right…" Naruto replied as he felt himself being pulled from the room. Near moments later he drifted off to sleep.

Hinata Hyuuga did not, I repeat did NOT want to wake up that morning, and apparently neither did Tenten, they figured if Naruto wasn't going to wake them up, they had no need to get up today, Hinata laughed at that thought, they were awfully lazy for ninja.

Finally Hinata forced the covers off of herself and sat upright, she looked over to find Tenten still out like a light. So she reached over and shook her.

"Ano… Tenten… Tenten…"

Finally her eyes eased open. "Five more minutes' mom, we don't even have training today."

"Ano… but we do have a mission." Hinata replied.

Upon hearing the word mission Tenten was much more awake; after all, missions often involve pointy things.

"come on Tenten," Hinata said as she got up and stepped out of the tent but the first thing she noticed was the presence of Naruto, quickly she waked back in and looked at Tenten.

"Hey, Naruto is still asleep…"

Tenten's eyes shot open, it was kinda like a game to them, they wondered if they ever thought Naruto would fall asleep. Quickly getting out of bed and climbing out of the tent she saw what Hinata said was true, there was Naruto Uzumaki, out like a light. "so it does sleep…"

"yes… yes it does…" they heard a sleepy voice say from beneath the covers. Not a second afterward Naruto sat up, stretched, and yawned. "Wow, I needed that."

"yes you did," Tenten relied, "is this the first time you have slept since we started the mission?"

"well good morning to you too Tenten, and how about you Hinata-Chan. Having a good morning I hope?" Naruto relied.

"Ano… its fine."

"Good, because I hate to rain on the parade or anything but we need to get moving…"

Naruto activated his eyes for a moment as the two girls went about getting the things packed, and he sighed as he looked at the four men about three miles away. All of them wearing jounin vests, and Shiruke Hazutora in the middle.

"So it all goes down today…" Naruto said to himself.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Tenten said.

Naruto snapped into reality realizing that he had spoken aloud. "Nothing," he said with his trademark smile. "Lets go."

After they had all started moving Naruto kept his eyes on constantly, it would not do to be surprised. But for the moment he lead his team around the missing nins, he didn't want Hinata or Tenten to be anywhere near when the actual fighting went down. They moved like that for about an hour, and Naruto knew the battle was only minutes away now, surely a criminal that highly ranked knew of there presence by this point. Slowly he turned and looked at Hinata and Tenten.

"do me a favor ok?"

"ano… what is it Naruto-kun?" Hinata replied.

"I want you two to keep moving ahead, there is a village up ahead about five miles, stay there and wait for me ok?"

"Naruto," Tenten said threateningly "what are you hiding."

"I'm sorry Tenten; Tsunade added a few things to my mission." Suddenly he felt Hinata grab his arm lightly.

"Naruto-kun…" she paused not knowing if she could say it… "Be careful." She said with a sigh.

"And when have I done differently." He paused and thought about it for a moment. "Actually" he said as he looked at the faces Tenten and Hinata were giving him. "I retract my previous statement."

Hinata just laughed a little bit, Naruto would be Naruto, and nothing in the world was going to change that. "Just promise…" she said

"I promise." It was right then that he felt the signature jump, activating his eyes he began to look for the missing Nins knowing they were coming his way.

He quickly swept the area and found the missing Nins in a heartbeat, when he did, he froze… "_Shit"_ thought Naruto _"there heading into a battle alright, but where the hell are they going." _Naruto carefully looked at the missing Nins path of travel _"they aren't headed anywhere near us… in fact, it looks like there headed about four miles behind…" _That was when it hit him.

"Hinata!" he called quickly

"Yes Naruto?"

"Are you absolutely sure you never saw anyone behind us? No one whatsoever?"

Hinata's face betrayed her as she remembered her father following them.

"Who Hinata? I need to know now. This is not a game." Naruto pleaded

Slowly but surely Hinata forced out the words as if she was saying some great sin. "its my father… he's been following us as backup since we left."

Naruto gave a momentary sigh of relief; at least they weren't getting into a three way battle here. And at least Haishi could hold his own.

"I'm not mad or anything Hinata, but right now you and Tenten are heading back to Konoha," Naruto started multitasking and arming himself with is numerous weapons. "No exceptions."

"Naruto what's going on?" Hinata forced out.

"Hinata, I know this is sudden, but at the moment your father has four missing Nins closing in on him and I know for a fact one of them is to be killed on sight. I need you and Tenten on the move to Konoha yesterday. Tell Tsunade what is happening and send back up, I don't know if there are more." His speech was rushed but calm. "Tenten I want you two traveling in the same formation as before, except Hinata your in back, keep your beakuugan on at all times till you get to Konoha, Hinata if you spot anything that is not an ally, Tenten I want you to put a weapon, I don't care which one, through its skull." He said as he reloaded his long sleeve with more senbon.

The look on Tenten's face was one of shock "you mean…"

"Yes Tenten, I mean kill it, kill it while it's a mile away and doesn't even know you are there."

Tenten just stood, she had never had to kill anyone before, assassinations were jounin only missions. "Naruto I don't know if I…"

"You can Tenten, I know you can, I have faith in both of you." Naruto said as he smiled.

Both Hinata and Tenten had to agree, just that smile made them feel like they could do anything, because Naruto had faith in them…

"What are you doing Naruto?" Hinata asked quickly.

"I'm going to see if I can't go save your father. I don't care how good you are, not even Baa-Chan can take four jounin at once." He said it with an ease in his voice, like nothing in the world could possibly go wrong. "I'll see you at home Hina-Chan."

He was about to leap off when he felt Hinata once again pull on his sleeve, this time however she pulled him hard enough to turn his whole body around, and disregarding caution, she waited until she could see his eyes and she sunk her lips into his, if for only a fleeting moment before pulling away and breaking the kiss. "Please Naruto, be careful."

A look of absolute shock and joy washed over Naruto, not in his entire life had he felt like that, he didn't even know what was going on until Hinata was kissing him, finally however he pulled out of the daze that he had been so effectively put into. "Don't worry Hinata, I will." And with those words he jumped off into the woods.

Hinata turned slowly around to Tenten, an entirely new shade of red covering her face.

Tenten just looked on in awe for a moment. "I would tell you how smooth that was Hinata, but I don't think I have anything to compare it too."

Hinata's blush still managed to deepen. "I'll take that as a complement." And with no more words spoken the two sped off towards Konoha.

Naruto forced more chakra into his legs as he jumped off a tree branch, Haishi would already be fighting four about seven minutes before Naruto got there, a lot can happen in seven minutes. He activated his eyes to watch the battle as he moved.

Hyuuga Haishi stood in the center of a large clearing, he had sensed and then seen the men coming after him and of coarse, he had been well informed by Shinzune what was going on. As such he acted accordingly; he found the best possible place to hold the battle and was patiently waiting for them to arrive. He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them again, but in that brief second, they changed from the eyes of a clan head, into the cold calculating eyes of a battle hardened worrier. Power flowed out of his body as they opened and under his breath you could hear him utter one word.

"Kiaten…" the air itself for thirty feet in every direction became a spinning ball of power as Haishi released the Hyuuga's ultimate defense. The only difference from that of his daughters and Neji's was his mastery of the technique… and his power. Unlike the younger generation, Haishi had mastered control of this technique to the point where he not only didn't have to spin like neji, he could create a 30 to 50 foot wide kiaten without a movement in his body, he was not a clan head for nothing.

Numerous jutsu and weapons bounced off the outer shell of the attack. And Haishi sighed as it moved to a close. "It's customary, when you meet someone new, to introduce yourself before you attempt to kill them." He said calmly.

Four men jumped out of the trees and into the clearing. "Perhaps we can grant such a thing as a last request." The man in the middle said with an evil smile. "Shiruke Hazutora… bringing death to you, for your convenience." He said with a slight bow. That was the first real look Haishi got at the man, he wasn't what you would expect from a ninja with that record. He was a thin scrawny looking man that didn't look like raw strength would be his style. He had jet black eyes and short black hair whit a widow's peak to match. He wore traditional Japanese robes and a scratched out headband from the land of lightning. He looked much more like an assassin than a man to engage in head to head combat.

"and you're a smart ass… wonderful." He replied, Suddenly Haishi was behind Shiruke. (for those of you who know bleach, think like the move Byakuya Kuchki likes to use before he releases senbozakura.) Shiruke barely reacted in time to dodge the kunai heading for the back of his neck. "Haishi Hyuuga." He finished as he dropped into the all too familiar Juken style. "Introductions over, lets get started… Beakuugan." The veins around his eyes popped and he fell into one of the more advanced Juken styles.

"indeed, don't anyone get close, he will kill you the moment you step into his range." Shiruke said to his comrades.

From that point on there would be no more talking, Haishi hated waiting. He moved instantly back to Shiruke to engage him, if he could destroy the leader early, the other three might flee. Haishi was no fool, if he was going to survive a fight that was four on one, he was going to need to make at least two of them run away… or he was going to need back up.

Haishi moved truly like a dance, and he showed why the Hyuuga style was named gential fist. Each strike looked like it was done with ease and every part of his body moved fluidly while bombarding his enemy with his Juken. His style had completely ridded fighting of any jerky movements, yet he attacked with surprising speed and precision, the biggest difference is Haishi Hyuuga did not block, he had no reason to, he flowed around all attacks like water, dodging with speed unmatched by the four missing Nins, and returning counterattacks ten fold. He watched as Shiruke fist came flying for his head. He tilted it two inches to the left. Never once moving another part of his body to dodge. Then with perfect balance he switched gears. Shiruke however was fast enough to retreat before he found a Juken strike in his stomach.

Both me then dropped back into there stances, it was obvious that the other three were good, but not at this level as Shiruke seemed to have told them to wait until he gave more orders.

"Your good Haishi, I'm glad you told me your name, I like to know who it is I'm fighting when I'm having fun." He said with a slight chuckle. "But now I have to kick it a nickel. I hope you can keep up." He started flying through hand signs. "shred reaper…" slowly lighting enveloped his hands and moved down his fingers, the lightning added about five inches to each of is fingers, effectively giving him lighting knives on his hands. "You Hyuuga aren't the only ones who specialize in close range combat. Go attack him now." He commanded the other three.

All four leapt at Haishi…

"Blood mist sphere."

A razor thin crimson sphere surrounded Haishi Hyuuga, Three of the four were thrown back violently as they connected with the sphere, there own jutsu backfiring on them, the fourth never made it, he was interrupted by a resengan in the face.

Slowly the wall around Haishi fell and Naruto landed next to him with a devious grin on his face.

"Four against one, I don't think that's fair." Naruto formed his hands into the all to familiar sign. "Shadow clone…" and behind them appeared a small army of Naruto's "now that's more like it."

Inwardly Haishi sighed, _just what this battle needed_ Haishi thought, _another smart-ass._

Hinata and Tenten moved swiftly through the woods, they were making a straight course for Konoha just as Naruto had said.

"you see anything Hinata." Tenten asked nervously. She really didn't want to kill anyone if she didn't have to.

"Not yet" Hinata replied.

Suddenly Tenten heard Hinata scream, she whipped around as fast as she could and found herself staring into a pair of eyes she would never mistake, the sharingan.

There, with an unconscious Hinata draped over his shoulder, stood Sasuke Uchiha.

"Its been awhile Tenten." He leaned forward and whispered something else into her ear. "Go tell Naruto, try to call Konoha for help, and I kill her."

That was all Tenten saw before everything went black, like nothing Sasuke had defeated both of them… Knocked her out… and kidnapped Hinata Hyuuga.

--

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I'm sorry again for the long wait, either way I want to say that this chapter is my mark of one full year on fanfiction (even though it is three days short.) and one year of working on this story, I have meet a lot of amazing people here and a lot of amazing writers, I can only hope that someone might be crazy enough to like my writing as well.

Peace…

Ghost.


	18. The calm before the storm

Welcome one and all to the newest installment of my story. A few quick announcements my other story has been officially put on hold to finish this one. Time constraints are simply no longer allowing me to write two stories at one time. The good news is no matter how long it may take me, this story will be finished. Now, because I believe you all have had to wait long enough… the story.

(Last Time)

Hinata and Tenten moved swiftly through the woods, they were making a straight course for Konoha just as Naruto had said.

"you see anything Hinata." Tenten asked nervously. She really didn't want to kill anyone if she didn't have to.

"Not yet" Hinata replied.

Suddenly Tenten heard Hinata scream, she whipped around as fast as she could and found herself staring into a pair of eyes she would never mistake, the sharingan.

There, with an unconscious Hinata draped over his shoulder, stood Sasuke Uchiha.

"Its been awhile Tenten." He leaned forward and whispered something else into her ear. "Go tell Naruto, try to call Konoha for help, and I kill her."

That was all Tenten saw before everything went black, like nothing Sasuke had defeated both of them… Knocked her out… and kidnapped Hinata Hyuuga.

As much as Hyuuga Haishi didn't like it, Naruto's entrance into the battle was more than welcome, that and with his surprise attack he managed to take out one of the weaker opposing ninja.

"You took Soujiro down in one hit. Not bad at all for a boy your age," Shiruke said calmly. "I should kill you before you grow up and become a problem."

Immediately Shiruke charged at Naruto, a blast coming from the ground as he moved, carefully he pinpointed his spot… drew his hand back… and smashed face first into the ground.

"Unfortunately, I'm not that easy to kill, if you're going to attack with a thrust, at least be sure that it's faster than that of Kakashi's Chidori." Naruto replied just as calmly as Shiruke had spoken before him. "Why is it people always underestimate me cause I'm a kid?"

Shiruke picked himself up off the ground and realized what happed. In the instant he drew his hand back Naruto had taken the opening to get behind him on his unprotected side, and then deliver a sharp blow to the back of his neck. Gravity did the rest as his own momentum brought him to the ground.

_This kid is amazing, _thought Shiruke, _his timing was flawless, and his aim impeccable. That he was able to hit a pinpoint spot moving at those speeds, that is almost unheard of, I can't pull that off. Not to mention he is as fast as the devil himself. But the kicker is he is not very strong, the speed at which he moves does not give him enough time to deliver a powerful strike. _

"You are so lucky I never pay attention Baa-Chan opens her mouth, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to stand right now." Naruto said with a smile.

Haishi realized instantly what the boy had done; he was also shocked to find all of the clones were gone. Naruto had to put all of his focus into that one move just to do what he did.

It took Shiruke far longer to figure it out. "Well whatever you did failed," Shiruke said with a high and mighty voice. "And now I won't make the mistake of underestimating you again. This time I'll kill you" he brought his hands together to form seals when he noticed he couldn't, his hands weren't doing anything he told them to. "Damn it boy, what did you do?!"

"Specialty of Baa-chans, the gondame of the hidden leaf," Naruto started. "Also referred to as the legendary sucker. Your body is controlled by electrical signals from your brain, when I hit you in the neck; I used my own chakra to cross the wires so to speak. Now when you try to move you right hand, your left hand moves, and vice versa. And like I said, you're lucky I never paid attention when she taught me how to do this, or else your entire body would be like that."

_This kid… he is not normal… but it doesn't matter, he is just a kid, I'll kill him!_

Shiruke leapt with all his force at Naruto, jumping from place to place utilizing his godlike agility. He stopped just in time to avoid a Juken strike to the heart.

"Please do not forget…" Haishi cut in. "I am your opponent." He paused and turned to Naruto. "do you think you can handle the other two?"

"No sweat… it was this guy I was worried about." Naruto admitted honestly. "Thanks for stepping in."

About that time the other two low level jounin fully recuperated from there jutsu's backfiring. And Haishi pointed Naruto over to them, signaling that he would deal with Shiruke.

Inside Haishi was quite surprised with Naruto, and quite impressed. _He knew that he was outclassed… _Haishi thought, _but he took advantage of his opponent underestimating him, and even after executing such a difficult move and gaining an advantage. He still keeps a level enough head to recognize that it is not only safer but more effective to fight cease the fight with a stronger opponent. _

"The time for talk is over." Shiruke interrupted, "I don't need my hands to beat you!"

As for Naruto his two opponents were nothing special on there own, defiantly low level jounin, the problem lied in the fact that there were two. He would have to hit both of them with one attack or the other would hit him from behind, after all, any attack that would hit a jounin, even a low class one, will momentarily leave you open.

"_What do you think Kyuu-Chan? Time to try out the new jutsu." _Naruto thought to Kyuubi in his mind.

"**Just be careful, you know how weak you get after using it." **She warned.

Suddenly Naruto was snapped back into reality by the movement of his opponents. _An attack from both sides huh? That explains the jounin vests, they are masters of teamwork. _

Naruto smiled and muttered under his breath. "Rift walker..."

In less than a millisecond Naruto disappeared from where he was standing, the same move he had used to escape after the blast in Konoha. There was no smoke or swirl of leaves, he was just gone, and the two opposing ninjas attacks sailed by harmlessly.

"where did he go?" the first one asked.

"Split back to back, expect a high-speed counter." The second replied, he had made it a point to study Naruto's tactics in the fight with Shiruke. Suddenly he had an idea, "water clone…" he said quickly, creating two more of himself.

The first smiled at his friends tactics, now they would have protection from all four sides.

Naruto slowly and deliberately walked out of the woods, having only one thing to say…

"did you boys pick the wrong person to play that game with." Suddenly three more walked out behind him just like the first, followed by five from the opposite side of the woods, then five more from the right, and then from the left. Dozens upon dozens of clones started pouring out of the woods to the point where how many there were was irrelevant, the two jounin in the middle simply knew they were surrounded and outnumbered.

Yes, perhaps the mob of Naruto clones could have overthrown the two jounin without much effort, perhaps Naruto could have ordered them all to charge with reasengans, perhaps he could have even tried out his "Infinity Gauntlet" a technique where 100 copies of Naruto attacked in succession with various jutsu. Not today however, today the real Naruto was not on the front lines of his army like usual, today the clones would serve simply as a method of installing fear and buying time.

The real Naruto sat quietly on top of a hill more than a mile and a half away, focusing intently on the task at hand, even with all of his training, creating a flawless senbon from moissinite was not something easily accomplished. After about five minutes of construction however, Naruto was more than happy with his work. Slowly but surly he formed his launcher of choice for his weapons from his chakra. Based off of an antique weapon called a "sniper rifle" Naruto had read about in a book he pulled the barrel from his bag, nothing more than a foot long hollow metal poll laden with groves. This was his and Takatsu-sensei's masterwork. Held in place by Naruto chakra the barrel floated mere centimeters from his hand, almost as if he was actually holding a hand gun. Confidently he loaded the two senbon into the barrel. Activating the next stage of his eyes he zoomed in on his targets, they still stood there motionless, unwilling to move for fear of provoking the army surrounding them.

Kyuubi was simply smiling inside Naruto, and the boy in question had only this to say before releasing his attack.

"Bang, Bang…"

The two projectiles took off quite literally like shot from a gun and the boom was almost simultaneous as the two senbon broke the sound barrier.

Back at the clearing no one would be the wiser, to an onlooker and to Haishi and Shiruke the two enemy ninja simply fell over dead with a perfectly round hole in there jugular artery, after about five seconds however the air around the battlefield seemed to explode, a massive eruption of sound and power tore through the bodies of the two fallen ninja and all of the clones in the area were shredded, the ground itself was ripped into peaces, gashes and craters filled the surrounding area. Even the battle going on with Haishi was momentarily interrupted due to the two ninja being blown backward by the force of the explosion. Neither warrior knew who or what could have caused the explosion, but both knew this, whatever it was aimed at, was no longer amongst the living.

Naruto smiled to himself back on the hill, "_you know what Kyuu-Chan… I like it."_

Inside Kyuubi had a warm and fuzzy feeling; she just couldn't help thinking she was rubbing off on the kit. **"Let's go Naruto; Haishi still seems to be fighting his battle."**

Naruto smiled again and nodded his agreement.

Haishi breathed deeply as he planned his next assault, one thing was for certain, when Shiruke had his mind on track, he was a vicious fighter. He set himself calmly into what would be the last attack of the day, Naruto's blast earlier on had forced them apart, giving them a much needed break in the action, as well as a chance for more complex Techniques. Power flowed through his body like a river as he fell into his stance, without hesitation he released…

"You are within range of my divination" Haishi said calmly "eight trigrams- 256 strikes"

The flurry of attacks that followed quickly overwhelmed Shiruke and he screamed in pain as he felt his chakra pathways close. The A-class criminal never even got the chance to fall to the ground after the attack, for Haishi appeared directly in front of him and sent a Jyuuken strike to his chest, stopping his heart.

"Final judgment. Strike number 257." He finished. For a moment nothing moved, simply the calm after a battle, Haishi always though there should be more to it, instead of just this silence, but there almost never was. Then Naruto came jumping down from the trees.

"I take it that blast from earlier was you?" Haishi said calmly.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and gave one of his infamous grins. "it didn't hit you did it?" He asked nervously. Last thing he wanted to do was piss off Hinata's father by attacking him accidentally.

"no, it did not. However…" Haishi said pointing to the land around him with a slight smile. "you have done a number on the landscape."

Naruto smiled sheepishly as he saw the creators and gashes in the ground, the trees that had been uprooted and massive boulders that had been tossed around like paper balls.

It was then Naruto noticed the difference between himself and the jounin and sannin from the generations before him. He and his friends in the Konoha 12 simply couldn't compare, perhaps they could in strength, but Naruto knew very well that he had just brought and end to two peoples lives. While he knew that death came about in battle, and would not be hindered by the fact that he was forced to take a life, the truth still weighed slightly on his soul. Those in the generation before hand, the jounin, the teams sensei's, the sannin. Death had surrounded them all for so long that in was no longer any different than brushing they're teeth to kill an enemy. He saw no weight hanging in Haishi's eyes.

They reacted in nothing more than milliseconds a stumbling was heard through the bushes. Both already with weapons in hand and eyes blazing with respective doujutsu's.

What would come through the bushes was in a ninja's mind worse to see than any enemy that could break fourth, Tenten stumbled out of the brush bruised, shredded, and beaten. She only managed two words before passing out. "Sasuke… Hinata…"

--

The world seemed black for a moment before her eyes fluttered open, she couldn't see much, it was far too dark, and for the moment she had no energy to activate her beakuugan. She could hear water however, lots of water, where ever it was coming from, it was a great deal of it moving very quickly. It also didn't take her long to realize she couldn't move, her arms and legs held firmly to by what looked like an earth jutsu. _That's right. _She though. _Sasuke captured me. _

Suddenly she felt the rocks move away and she dropped down to the floor. Her eyesight starting to return to her.

"Good to see you're awake." She heard a cold voice behind her. She whipped around and could make out a slight outline of a person; she already knew it was Sasuke. Suddenly the lights came on and she saw for the first time Sasuke Uchiha in full light. He was slightly shorter than Naruto now but sported Orochimaru's clothing, power seemed to crackle around the boy, and his eyes stayed permanently as the sharingan.

"Come…" he said quickly as he started to ascend the stairs behind him. Hinata was quite surprised, where she was looked like a dungeon of rock, but the stairs were so intricate as she made her way up behind him. She was cautious as she moved, not trusting the Uchiha, but as of now her options were rot in a dungeon or follow as instructed. She chose the latter. As she reached the top of the stairs Sasuke stopped and turned to her before opening the door.

"You have been injected with a chakra paralyzing agent; you will neither be able to use jutsu or your beakuugan for the next 48 hours." He said. "The only way out is a door that has been sealed over by me personally, I am the only one that can open it. If you think you can overpower me with tiajutsu only you are welcome to try, however at that point I no longer guarantee your safety. So long as you make no attacks on my person and no attempts to escape, you will be treated as a guest and will leave hear without any harm befalling you." Here he pushed the doors open into a dining room with food laid out on the table. "You have been unconscious for nearly seven hours, you are welcome to as much food as you like. Please, have a seat."

Hinata hesitantly did as she was told, while Sasuke took his seat at the other end of the table. "No doubt," Sasuke continued, "you have a many questions about your situation. At this time and this time only I will answer any three questions you so choose."

Hinata thought for a moment, while obviously disliking it, Sasuke was being very polite to a prisoner, but more importantly she wondered about her surroundings. "Where are we?" she asked quietly.

"That question is usually the first," Sasuke replied. "we are in an underground hideout for Orochimaru. However it was designed and constructed by me and for now is my base of operations."

Hinata thought for a second before asking another, however she had trouble getting the words out of her mouth. "A-ano, are you going to k-kill me?"

Sasuke scoffed. "what a waist of a question, I already stated that so long as you do not attack my person nor make an attempt to escape no harm will come to you, neither the food or drink is poisoned and nothing here is meant to harm you."

Hinata semi-berated herself for wasting a question, however she had to make sure. _Last one, _she thought. "Why are you being so kind to me?" Hinata asked quickly.

At this Sasuke laughed. "The answer is very simple; in one of the days to come I will kill Naruto Uzumaki, the least I can do for a dead man is make sure to treat the one he loves well." He finished a dark smile on his face. Hinata froze for a moment; she knew Sasuke's intentions from the beginning, but still. "There is a sparring room, a library, a bathhouse, and a sauna along with various other facilities. All of which are open for you to make use of at any time, your room is upstairs fourth door on the left, inside are clothes of all sizes so that you may change if you wish.

--

Naruto and Haishi sat around a fire, Tenten still unconscious between them, now with her injuries treated to the best of the two's abilities, however Naruto Uzumaki and Haishi Hyuuga were fighters, not medics, it would be awhile before she came around. Both the two men wanted nothing more than to take off looking for Hinata, but they knew that by now Sasuke had a massive head start, far more than he would need, they would have to wait until Tenten came around to give them an idea of where to go.

Haishi fiddled with a kunai in his hands, "Are you sure he won't hurt her?" he looked at Naruto asking the question for the third time.

"I'm sure," Naruto said trying to convince himself as well. "Sasuke wants me, as long as we comply with his demands when Tenten wakes up he won't harm Hinata, he is a traitor, but he believes in the blood of the Uchiha, and the honor that comes with it."

Haishi sighed, seemingly accepting this as an answer; it surprised Naruto to see that when his daughter was in the face of such danger he would become so worried. The Haishi he knew wouldn't have cared less. Away from the clan and away from the councils Haishi Hyuuga was an entirely different person.

"I pushed her…" he heard Haishi say under his breath. "so hard after she was kidnapped and her mother died, expected so much more of her so that she would expect more of herself, in hopes that a fate like this would never again befall her."

"Haishi…" Naruto cut in. "I don't know much of family, mostly because I never had one. And I don't know much of the Hyuuga's. but I do know its ok to expect more from someone, you simply can't break them down when they only manage to be good on there first try instead of great."

There was no doubt in Haishi's mind know, he hated this kid… in such a short amount of time he found all the flaws in his parenting and he never even had parents. His advice made sense, and it took his daughter being in almost certain death to make him realize it.

"get some sleep Haishi, there will be battles to come and we will both need our strength," Naruto Smiled his cheesy grin. "Tomorrow we go get Hinata back."

--

Sooooooo….. I hope every one enjoyed it, again sorry for the long wait, but it seems Haishi might be turning over and the action is about to begin, it's now the final calm before the storm people. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! Peace…

Ghost…


	19. The final stage

Alright, chapter 19 is finally here, I don't want to hold you up this time so with no more announcements, the story.

--

"get some sleep Haishi, there will be battles to come and we will both need our strength," Naruto Smiled his cheesy grin. "Tomorrow we go get Hinata back."

"Naruto wait…" Haishi said quickly. "I wish to inquire about your technique."

"Which one?" Naruto's reply was quick, Hinata's kidnapping had put them both on edge, but they knew good and well they couldn't do anything till Tenten woke up, and that would happen when it happened.

"While you were fighting your opponents, they attacked from both sides, and you disappeared, I believe they took it as a simple substitution but it was much more than that, what was it?"

"Oh.." Naruto said realizing what he was talking about. "You mean Rift Walker. That's kinda my tip to the fourth hokage. I spent a long time while I was training with ero-sennin trying to copy the fourths move. This is as close as I could come without more history of the jutsu. Its actually pretty close, I figured out how the Yondame could move his body so quickly in battle. You see, the body can only physically move so quickly before g-forces would rip it to shreds, so there is a limit at which humans can move. To overcome this, the fourth would create a chakra shield around one side of his body. Hence creating his on atmosphere. While he had this shield up g-forces would have absolutely no effect on his body."

"How may I ask does one create there own atmosphere." Haishi inquired.

"Its actually not that difficult. You yourself can do it." Naruto replied

"Really?" Haishi said in disbelief.

"You know what it's easier if I show you." Haishi's look turned to one of great interest. "touch my shoulder." Naruto finished.

Haishi did as was asked, he vowed later to never do that again.

Next thing Haishi knew, he was doubled over on the ground coughing up blood. "W-What… did y-you do?" He forced out. He felt like his whole body had been hit with a giant sledgehammer. He looked around, noticing that they were no longer at the campsite.

"I took you along on a rift walker." Naruto explained as he sat down, "that was about 1/5 of the speed I normally move at, and not but a fraction of the fourth's speed. You and I barely broke mach 1. When the Yondame did it, he was working on the speed of light." Naruto then jumped to his feet. "Alright, you ready to go back?"

"Thanks…" Haishi replied, "but I'll walk." He said forcing himself to stand.

"don't worry Haishi, this time you are going to have a shield." Naruto said realizing that after that demonstration Haishi probably wouldn't want to do it again.

"Oh…" Haishi replied "perhaps then…"

"can you create a Kiaten that has both of us at the center?" Naruto cut him off.

"Well yes… but…"

"good, touch my shoulder and do it." Naruto finished.

Haishi saw no reason not to anymore, and did as he was told. "Kiaten…" He said, creating the ball of power around the two.

When the air around him stopped spinning the two were back at the camp sight and Naruto was sitting on a log, Haishi felt no different that if he had taken a normal step.

"You see Haishi…" Naruto said. "You can do it too. However you waist a lot of energy since you put the shield around every direction when you only need it in one. That time we came back at a little faster than mach 2, how do you feel?"

Haishi smiled "thankfully, not like I got hit with a giant sledge hammer." He took a seat next to Naruto and looked for a moment at Tenten. "Why, may I ask, do you not utilize such a weapon in battle as the forth did?"

"Well mostly because when I actually do it the amount of chakra it takes to accelerate and then decelerate at those speeds is massive, enough that I have about a ten second recovery time where I cant do anything. If you teleport into a battle and then just stand there for ten seconds all your going to do is die." Naruto explained "To this day I don't know how the fourth could jump from place to place without running out of chakra by the third jump, my only explanation for it is he had almost limitless chakra. If I had limitless energy, that move could be used exactly like the fourths; only I could go anywhere not just where I have markers set. Mine is mostly just good for a fast exit, however there are times like today that I try to incorporate it."

"it is… impressive." Haishi said shakily. With those his final words he headed off to his own bed.

--

Tsunade sat at her desk, ever-present sake in hand and ever-present paperwork on desk. She sighed looking at her watch and then back at the stack of papers. _Someday, _she thought to herself, _I will make a paperwork jutsu. _She then felt a presence outside her window. "You can come in anytime Jiraiya." She said without looking up.

The window to her left side opened and Jiraiya worked his way in. "it just gets harder and harder to sneak up on you Tsunade."

"yeah well most people use the door, its easy to tell its you when you're the only one that uses the window, and always the same window as a matter of fact." Tsunade paused as that interesting, but otherwise useless bit of information came to her. Then the reason hit, _the woman's hot springs are in that direction…_ "Jiraiya…" Tsunade said with a promise of pain. "would you like to explain to me why you just came from the woman's hot springs… or should I just go ahead and beat the crap out of you now."

The look on Jiraiya face was one of sheer terror. The gods had sealed his fate, he was no longer to walk amongst the living. "Now Tsunade, I can explain… lets not do anything rash…"

"Oh I bet you can explain…" she said with a glare so cold, the devil was wandering around downstairs wondering who was messing with the thermostat. "And I am going to listen to every excuse you have…" she continued getting up from her chair. "And for every one I think is bull shit, I am going to pound you twice as far into the ground…"

"Tsunade-sama!! Tsunade-sama!!" Shinzune said bursting through the door. Drawing the hokage's attention.

"yes Shizune,"

"You won Tsunade-sama! You won the lottery!! Look right here…" she said rushing over to her desk. "You won a million ryo."

_Shit… _Tsunade thought hanging her head.

"Ano… Tsunade-sama, you won, aren't you happy?"

"Ecstatic Shizune…" her reply was completely monotone.

"Right… well I'm going to leave you back to your work… call me if you need anything." Shizune said as she edged her way out the door.

Something Shizune said immediately didn't sit well with the blond hokage. It wasn't that she won the lottery, she knew that was trouble. _Wait _she stumbled over what Shizune had said last, _"right… well I'm going to leave you back to your work… call me if you need anything." Hold on a minute, I wasn't working, I was just about to pound Jiraiya for… _quickly she looked around finding herself completely alone. _shit, what a horrible day for me to win the lottery. _

_--_

Hinata woke and for a brief moment felt panic at her new surroundings. Carefully she climbed out of her temporary bed as she remembered where she was. _Still captured… _she thought. It was pretty much her normal routine just in a new place, wake up, realize she didn't have a calendar to mark off the day, take a shower, get dressed, routine. She knew all to well however that today would be anything but routine. She had studied the layout of the building very carefully, there were only two doors which she had no access too. The first obviously being the exit, the second she assumed was another living quarter since she had not seen Sasuke since that first encounter. Wearily she walked downstairs, and was quite surprised to find she had company. A dark haired girl with glasses had perched herself on the countertop.

"what are you looking at?"

"Ano… N-nothing." Hinata said quickly as she went to sit down. Suddenly the new girl was standing in her path and leaned in close. "hey girly… Sasuke-kun is mine, make a move on him and I'll kill you." With that she quickly turned around and sat back down.

"Ano… why would I make a move on Sasuke?"

"don't know don't care, Sasuke's going to marry me so don't go interfering."

"Ano… don't worry about that, you can have him."

This statement seemed to perk the new girls interest. "you already got somebody?"

Hinata blushed at that. "s-sort of… I guess. I haven't really made it official yet. So you and Sasuke are engaged?"

"Ummm…" Her face visibly fell. "Actually I don't think he even knows my last name, he just picked me to go on this mission and distract Kisame while he kills Itachi."

"Ohh… I kind of know the feeling. When it seems like people are looking through you instead of at you." Hinata replied.

"Yeah… but on this mission, I'll show him. I'll make him recognize me." A slight gleam formed in her eyes.

"Ano… why does Sasuke stay with Orochimaru?" Hinata asked quickly. "Doesn't he know he just wants to take his body?"

"Orochimaru? Oh I made the mistake of thinking Sasuke brought you on too, I guess your just a commoner, didn't think Sasuke would hire a maid."

Hinata quickly realized she wasn't wearing her headband and decided to play along.

"we don't have to worry about Orochimaru," she continued "Sasuke killed him about a week ago."

Shock crossed over Hinata, Orochimaru was dead? That was wonderful but if Orochimaru was dead, why was Sasuke fighting Naruto?

"so anyway, after he killed him he gathered up me and two others to come with…"

a wind passed through the room as one of the doors Hinata couldn't go through opened. Sasuke standing in the middle. "I never pegged you as one to have conversations with prisoners rin."

"Nani?" she looked back and forth between Hinata and Sasuke. "prisoner?"

Slowly but surely Hinata pulled her headband from her pocket and placed it in its rightful place around her neck. Realization struck rin like a ton of bricks.

"Konoha nin…" immediately a kunai found it's way into her hand as she charged at Hinata.

"Stop." Sasuke said as he crossed the room and grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing Sasuke, a prisoner escaped from the holding cells!!"

"calm down rin. Do you honestly think she would still be walking around if she didn't have my permission to leave the holding cells? Foolish girl…" he said turning his head away. Quickly he looked at Hinata "come with me, I have something to show you."

She quickly followed, not wanting to agitate the situation more than it already was, she was correct in assuming that the second door she had no passage through was indeed another living quarters much like the one she was in earlier, Sasuke wasted no time in leading her up yet another flight of stairs, this one seemed to go on forever, continually spiraling upward so far the Hinata could no longer guess at how many floors they had climbed. Finally they came to a door which Sasuke push open for her.

She no longer wondered what the mass of rushing water she had heard the day before was as a massive waterfall stretched out in front of her. "this…" Sasuke said "is the valley of the end."

She had never actually been here but she knew of its significance to Naruto and Sasuke. They were almost twelve storys up overlooking the waterfall so she could see and fully appreciate the ground she was standing on.

"you can still see damage… from our last battle here. The rubble…" Sasuke pointed "by the first hokage's feet… a product Naruto's rasengan. The piece missing from Uchiha Madara's leg… courtesy of my chidori at the time. At the age of twelve we were powerful enough to permanently scar the land. He could have killed me…" Sasuke was no longer talking to anyone but himself. "he could have ripped my throat open, but chose to scratch my forehead protector instead, simply as proof that he could. I have to know which of us is stronger, I have to know who is the best. Now once more a Uchiha and a defender of Konoha will cross blades, once more there will be a showdown at the valley of the end, and what a show it will be."

--

The three of them jumped through the woods, wasting no time since they knew how long it would take to get to the valley of the end. Tenten had actually been the first awake, and had quickly roused the others. Sasuke's message had been simple yet effective 'Naruto, come to the end.' And it took no time at all to decode for the blond. Unfortunately however the valley of the end was almost a full 10 to 11 hours away. The fight would have to take place tomorrow. Naruto had distanced himself from the group, most likely trying to control his anger at himself for letting this happen. He hadn't talked since that morning and so far had forgotten that humans show emotion. Every last fiber in his being was focused on saving Hinata. And judging by the state of the rouge chuunin that had been unfortunate enough to run across them a little ways back, he would… erase… anyone who got in his way. Haishi actually seemed to be taking it all in stride, however she could see concern weighing on his usually stoic face. He was quiet as well but Haishi Hyuuga was always quiet.

She for the most part was trying not to have a mental breakdown, she had been defeated, Hinata had been kidnapped, Naruto had killed three people and Haishi had been following them this entire time… and killed one person. It all happened so fast, how long ago was it that she and Hinata were scheming to spy on Naruto? Now that she thought about it, it seemed like so long ago that Naruto came back. So long ago that they were training together behind the safety of Konoha's walls. She wished it could have gone back to that.

(nightfall)

Tenten had been so right it was scary, the entirety of the trip to the sight of the would be battle had been spent in almost complete silence. Any and all of her attempts to start a conversation between them met there end before they even started. Eventually Tenten took to noticing things about the other two that she had never seen before. For instance, Haishi Hyuuga wore a strange type of sandal for shinobi. Having openings in both the front of the foot and the heel. She noticed the awkward hanging of the sleeve around Naruto's left arm, the only evidence of the weapons hidden inside. Like Hinata she noticed that she had never seen his right arm unwrapped. She had also seen there habits. Even though neither of them were focused on hiding the fact that they were moving they both seemed to cover there tracks instinctively. Not all that surprising for a Hyuuga Haishi covered his chakra trail flawlessly, but due to so much practice in avoiding the chakra techniques to track a person he left painfully obvious physical markers that could be followed. Naruto rather surprised her in the fact that, due to his overabundant supply, he left a decent chakra trail, but covered his physically tracks perfectly. Noticing the odd but mostly useless bits of information was how much of her time was spent.

Now as the sun set they came ever closer to the end of the woods that signified the entrance to the valley.

"Stop." Haishi said loudly, "we rest here for tonight." His word sat anything but well with Naruto.

"you must be kidding, we're thirty minutes away." Naruto said angrily. "we have to go get Hinata back."

"I want my daughter back just as much as you do, but I am thinking about the best chance to get all of us, not just her back safely Naruto." Haishi set his pack down and began to set out his sleeping bag, as if the gesture solidified his choice. "we have been traveling all day, even with your stamina the odds are more to your favor if you rest before you fight. Then we think about tenten's injuries, while not serious she can use this time to rest, also if we go and retrieve Hinata now you will be fighting at night."

Tenten hadn't thought about that yet, despite the fishwives tales of ninja's working at night only, very few battles happened after sunset, fighting in the dark was uncertain and dangerous.

"Fine…" Naruto was forced to agree. "but I want both of your promises, that no matter how the battle goes, you get Hinata out and go to Konoha. This is a battle between me and Sasuke, and its three years overdue." Tenten simply felt herself nodding and saw Haishi out of the corner of her eye doing the same. With that they all silently went to bed, tomorrow weighing heavily on each of there minds.

(the next morning)

Hinata awoke slowly, having to force herself to get out of bed, she had learned yesterday that the girl she had meet had been named Rin, and was also a former subordinate of Orochimaru. She also knew that if Naruto would come for her, this would have to be the day.

She climbed out of bed and did her normal routine, she was more surprised to find Sasuke him self waiting for her in the downstairs.

"gather your things and wait by the door…" it was all he said as he left the room.

Naruto had naturally been the first one up, followed quickly by Haishi, Tenten was still out cold as the sun came up, but who could blame the girl? _Finally Sasuke… _Naruto thought, _Its just you and I. _He didn't have to wait anymore, he could kill the bastard now so it was over with. Then he could go back to Konoha, get the file on his parents, and do whatever the hell he wanted. _No… _he realized to himself as he thought about Hinata, _not everything I want, Konoha would never allow it. _He may not ever be able to be with her, maybe not even stand beside her. But the things one can do in the background would boggle many peoples minds, one thing was clear in his mind. _I will do all I can to protect her. _

By the time Naruto had been pulled from his thoughts, Tenten had been reluctantly shaken awake. The three wasted no more time in setting out.

To those who had never seen the falls before, AKA Tenten, the deafening roar of the water and the massive statues that framed it were awe inspiring. "the valley of the end." Naruto said.

"Sasuke certainly has a flair for the dramatic." Tenten replied still staring at the massive falls.

"Agreed." Haishi said quietly.

Suddenly a voice rang out behind them

"Your late, dobe…"

"And you're a bastard," Naruto said as he turned his head to meet his opponents gaze. "now let Hinata go so I can kill you properly."

--

AN: NEXT CHAPTER IS THE BIG SHOWDOWN PEOPLE!! (Chibi Author dances in background and waves around banners.) I don't think there will be much more than about four more chapters to this story, so it is finally starting to come to a close. Thanks as always to those of you who were kind enough to review.

Till next time…

Ghost…


	20. Fight fire with fire

Welcome one and all, I guess

Welcome one and all, I guess. Sooooooooo….. two reviews on the last chapter. Thanks for the support guys, way to have my back, if I ever need to feel like I suck I know where to go. Whatever…. The chapter.

--

"Your late, dobe…"

"And you're a bastard," Naruto said as he turned his head to meet his opponents gaze. "Now let Hinata go so I can kill you properly."

"Bold words…" Sasuke mused "I look forward to watching you try."

"Quit stalling… let Hinata go!!"

"Ummm…" He held his finger in the air as if to say 'hold on' "problem, the two behind you, they aren't here to distract us from our fun are they?"

"They are simply here to take Hinata home…" Naruto said with a growl "this is between you and me."

"Fair enough… RIN" he yelled behind him "let her go."

Slowly rin came out from behind one of the rocks, holding Hinata at kunai point. Reluctantly she removed the kunai from her throat and cut the ropes restricting her movements.

Hinata wasn't going to wait for goodbyes, the moment that last rope popped off she cleared the distance between her and Naruto in record time.

"NARUTO!" she said as she wrapped her arms around his midsection, she could faint from embarrassment later.

Naruto, taken slightly off guard by Hinata's actions, wrapped his arms around the girl slowly and whispered quickly into her ear "Goodbye Hinata-Chan, thank you for all you've done."

With those words he pushed her off to toward the others and made a beeline for Sasuke.

_Why goodbye?? _thought Hinata desperately as she watched his retreating form, tears forming in her eyes. Se noticed the power rolling of the two, the bloodlines already blazing with hatred, the slight glow of the bandages on Naruto's arm… _NO!!_

The tears building up in her eyes started to fall like rain as she ran in front of the boy she loved. "YOU CAN'T!!" Hinata said as she buried her head into his chest, "we are all going to see you again, your coming back to Konoha with us. I wont let you do that Naruto, if I have to I'll close all the pathways in your arm."

"Hinata… I wasn't planning on walking away from this for a long time, I Haven't cared about my life for three…" 'SMACK!!' Hinata quickly withdrew her hand, almost unable to believe she had slapped him.

"If you don't care about your life, WE do Naruto, I do… Naruto I know you lov…"

"enough of this already," Sasuke forced his way into the conversation. "At first it was amusing now its simply boring."

Hinata sent Sasuke a glare that surprisingly, although he would never admit it, sent a small chill up his spine.

"Naruto… " Hinata spoke carefully, as if the words would break. "I know you love me… I… I love you back. Please… I want you to come back with us… please."

Naruto blanked, not knowing what to feel, at the moment he wasn't feeling anything, simply asking himself questions in his head. _She knew? Is that why she kissed me? Why would she love me? _ He didn't know what to feel, after never having been loved, what should he do, what could he do. Reluctantly he decided it would have to wait, "I promise Hinata…" was all he said as he walked by her.

Hinata smiled, she expected that to happen. Naruto was a pretty simple guy for all his complexities. A new emotion confuses him, and rather than be hindered by it weighing on his mind, he would push it aside to deal with the problems happening now. Right now the problem was Sasuke Uchiha. Hinata wasn't worried, Naruto would return to Konoha, if for no other reason than to understand this new emotion called love.

_The wheels are turning, _Haishi thought to himself. _And while it may not be in the direction the clan would want… perhaps its time I get involved. _

Hinata came over quickly, immediately hugging Tenten and apologizing for not seeing there attacker when it happened. Tenten quickly assured her that no one was hurt and it would all be ok. He watched her slowly pull away from the comfort of her friends embrace and face him, it was what Hinata did then that made him realize he had never actually met his daughter, he knew nothing about her.

"Haishi-sama," she said with a bow. "I am sorry for my failure and my weakness reflecting badly on the clan, please forgive my friends, I was kidnapped due to my own weakness."

It killed Haishi to see that, all his life the Hinata in front of him was who he had seen, never had he seen the real one, the one that just moments ago embraced her friends. He could only think of one action worth doing. As soon as Hinata stood up from her bow he quickly wrapped her in his arms. "I am glad," he spoke softly. "to see you are safe."

"I hope I haven't missed much in my absence." Sasuke said sarcastically as the waterfall crashed in the background.

"Not much." Naruto replied staring him down "Sakura tried to kill me, and I tried to wipe Konoha off the face of the earth... ect."

"Interesting indeed, perhaps I blew the two of you off as worthless too early?" he paused for a moment, as if he was actually tossing around the idea. "No matter, I will reacquaint myself with Konoha as I burn it too the ground." Sasuke said as he charged Naruto.

Naruto stood, choosing to stand his ground instead of charging in like Sasuke, although he frowned a bit on the inside. _Charging in recklessly has always been my thing; it's almost a shame to give it up._

After seeing Naruto's odd reaction Sasuke stopped, not a foot away from his enemy and sent a round kick towards his head.

A smile crossed Naruto's face as he caught the foot flying at him with one hand, while a look of shock quickly passed over Sasuke's face as Naruto threw him over his shoulder. A quick flip and Sasuke landed with the grace of a cat.

"Are we really going to waist our time warming up?" Naruto said dully.

The shocked look on Sasuke's face had turned to one on intrigue. "This might actually be fun. Fireball no jutsu." He said as he blew a mass of fire at Naruto.

Naruto swiftly dodged by jumping in the air. "Volley…" Naruto started spinning in midair and like a machine started pulling senbon from his sleeve and releasing them at an unimaginable rate.

"Oh Oh…" Tenten gasped on the sidelines. "I totally taught him that."

Sasuke pulled his katana from his side and span it in his hands, effectively knocking the 5 second burst of the few hundred senbon away.

Naruto fell to the ground already two of the scrolls from his leg setting them on each side.

"Oh Oh…." Tenten started.

"Rising twin shadow dragons." Suddenly there were five Naruto's all positioned to execute Tenten's signature move.

"I totally didn't teach him this…" Tenten finished with a sigh.

All five Naruto's burst into the air, the scrolls becoming dragons around them.

_Well that's rather annoying. _Sasuke thought, there was no way his sword could block the weapons coming from all five directions, and he didn't really posses many 360 defensive jutsu. _Time to move _he decided as a black cloud of weapons descended on him.

Sasuke jumped from place to place utilizing the godlike speed and agility Orochimaru forced him to have. He backfliped over the water and bounced off Uchiha Madera's leg sailing over what looked to be the end of the barrage.

"Rise again…"

Sasuke suddenly remembered the rest of Tenten's attack, all the weapons were held on chakra strings for a second wave.

Now the black cloud converged on him from below as he flew through the air.

"Phoenix spiral" fire enveloped Sasuke's body as he threw himself at the ground, the great flame knocking away or vaporizing and weapons in his way. He touched down safely, not a scratch on his body, and a smirk on his face.

"Neat trick…" Sasuke commented, picking up a half melted kunai. "But otherwise useless on any ninja of class."

Off to the side Tenten fumed, Hinata quickly grabbed her friend holding her back from entering the fight. "THAT WAS MY RISING TWIN DRAGONS MOVE YOU BASTARD!! HINATA LET GO OF ME…. I'LL SHOW YOU A NEAT TRICK YOU TWO FACED SLIME BALL OF A…"

Hinata could only chuckle slightly as a seemingly never ending string of curses left her mouth.

Sasuke, if he heard any of it, chose to ignore the taunting from the sidelines focusing directly of the blond in front of him.

"This hardly even seems as if I'm fighting Naruto… where is the resengan? The army of clones? It's not like you to fight with other people's techniques. I want to see something new, or at least something original." Sasuke continued.

"Because your one to talk, you haven't used anything but fire jutsu since we started, where is your precious Chidori." Naruto retorted.

"Ahh… but there is a reason for that, I have, in your absence, become the greatest fire ninjutsu specialist to ever live… I think you at least deserve to die by the most powerful of the moves in my arsenal."

"That's my Sasuke…" Naruto said in a mock voice, faking tears of joy. "Always thinking about others, I'm so proud."

Haishi noticed what immediately started out as a ninjutsu battle was quickly turning into one of wit. Perhaps it was a die hard habit left over from when they would spar as kids, he couldn't say for sure. When he refocused his attention on the two combatants they stood staring one another down.

"**Hey kit…"** Kyuubi said stepping forward in his mind

"_Yeah…" _

"**That whole 'I'm the greatest fire specialist in the world' thing. Did that sound like a challenge to you?"**

"_Why yes…" _Naruto laughed to himself at the fact that Kyuubi was having fun "_it did."_

"**Naruto Phoenix flower."**

"Phoenix flower"

"Phoenix flower"

Both Naruto and Sasuke took simultaneous advantage of there speed, jumping around the landscape rapidly firing the small but dangerous balls of flame toward the other. Sasuke was surprised, and a tad annoyed, that not only did Naruto predict his attack, but so far was matching it blow for blow.

Naruto focused simply on colliding his attack with Sasuke's. He wasn't dumb enough to think he could actually hit him with a fire jutsu of this caliber. Slowly the explosions resulting in the two attacks colliding ceased as the two combatants slowed to stare one another down again.

A smirk was now found upon Naruto's face as Sasuke pondered how Naruto could have matched his fire attack.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong…" Naruto started "but if you were the most powerful fire jutsu user in the world, shouldn't your attack have been stronger than mine?"

"Shut it dobe… you got lucky." He said as he burst into hand sings.

"**Naruto, great flame dragon."**

"Great flame dragon…"

"Great flame dragon…"

Alongside two great breaths, twin dragons erupted onto the battle field. They circled each other as they rose skyward. Both dragons rising into oblivion, searching for an opening to attack the others master. The dragons came up with the same conclusion as Naruto before them, they move to attack the other player and they put there own master in danger.

"Your smart Naruto, I'll give you that. What say we see which one is stronger?" Sasuke yelled over the roar of the jutsu.

"Fair enough."

Both dragons retreated behind there respective master and charged for the center. There were no games now, the simple fact was the more powerful dragon would overtake the other one.

Hinata's heart skipped a few beats as the dragons met, even Haishi drew a sharp breath. While not unusually strong powers, the two colliding attacks were at least jounin level.

For a moment the center of the battlefield looked like a self sustaining inferno, jumping in and out, flaring randomly. Naruto tensed as the giant shock wave from the attack rammed his body. Finally the two dragons met head on, counteracting each other, they disappeared.

The look on Sasuke's face was now of great annoyance, and Naruto held back the pain he felt in his right arm. Not being used to using fire techniques had slightly burned his left shoulder; he quickly decided it wasn't bad enough to try healing at the moment.

"I guess I got lucky twice then?"

"You son of a…"

Suddenly the slight breeze that tossed Hinata's hair picked up into a gust, bringing leaves and lose pieces of dirt flying into the air. Hinata quickly grabbed any loose items she had on her and put them in her sack as the wind continued to pick up. Now approaching a gale even the strongest of trees waned and cried as the surge bent them downward. Haishi even chose to anchor himself with chakra as to not fall over. He immediately noticed that all the trees were not bending away from Naruto as if he were releasing a great deal of energy, but toward him, as if he was gathering it.

Finally there was nothing, absolutely nothing, the wind died so quickly that Tenten, who had been leaning against the wind to stop it from blowing her over, stumbled and almost fell.

Sasuke looked around confused; he couldn't tell if it was simply ridiculous weather or a technique. Three things made a very strong case against the latter, it was showy but ineffective, the winds weren't near powerful enough to do any damage, and Naruto never made any hand seals.

"So that was anticlimactic…" he said just barely loud enough for the others to hear.

"Was it?" Naruto asked as his arms fell to the side, his hands hung loosely with his fingers not in a fist, but curled and separated as if they were claws.

It was almost confusing as Naruto swung his arm through the air, obviously hitting nothing it first looked like he was just swinging his arm.

Sasuke was the first to notice the absence of the light breeze that had started blowing after Naruto's technique, sensing the danger he forced as much chakra into his feet as he could and jumped.

Suddenly the ground beneath him erupted as a wind storm carved out five perfect gashes in Uchiha Madara's leg; as if a giant claw had come down and carved out the earth.

Sasuke bouncing off of the great statue climbed higher until he was confident he would be able to dodge any further attacks of the sort.

Haishi, who caught up in the moment must of not remembered that he was Hyuuga Haishi, could only let his mouth drop a little in amazement.

"Otou-sama…" Hinata said cautiously after seeing her fathers uncharacteristic reaction. "Are you ok?"

Startled by his daughter voice Haishi quickly straightened his posture and closed his mouth. "Uzumaki-san's attack was…" he struggled to find the right word. "Unusual… suicidal… and impressive."

It was Hinata's turn to be shocked and Tenten's turn to be confused. Unusual was a fairly common word for her father, and almost everything Naruto does is suicide, but impressive. Impressive was not a word Haishi Hyuuga threw around, Haishi Hyuuga was not Impressed by anyone outside of Hanabi.

Whilst Hinata stood in wonder Tenten fumed. "What do you mean impressive? I think the rising twin shadow dragons was more impressive that throwing around some wind."

"With all due respect Tenten-san, the level of Naruto's last attack requires more than twice the control of your rising twin dragons. I don't have time to explain the details to you, nor do I think you would understand them if I did."

Hinata smiled… sort of… Haishi was back; maybe not a good thing for those around him but the universe was once again stable.

"Oh yeah, try me." Tenten prodded.

Haishi sighed. "Very well, pay attention Hinata; this will no doubt answer one of the questions you will have in the future. Most wind based distance attacks come in the form of a spiral as you have no doubt seen. The reason for this is because a spiral is both self equalizing and self sustaining. This equalization results in a form that requires little effort to both realize and control. When this wind is taken out of that self stabilizing system it requires the user to control and maintain it. This a normally easy thing to do with earth and water techniques fire and especially air become unpredictable and sporadic. When air and chakra mix without that vortex form they do not blend but bounce off of one another, this reaction makes it extremely powerful but inconstant. So it takes a level of aim almost inhuman to actually hit your target. Even with that the attack is relatively easy to do, most jounin can produce one of the wind blades Uzumaki-san has produced but I don't know any other than Asuma that have a success rate higher than 10. The danger comes when you add along another blast of wind, should the user lose control and the two collide the resulting backfire is usually fatal. The odds of a normal person completing this technique simply to the point that the two do not collide is around 30. When you add the other three in the odds of them not colliding become around 5. Adding into the equation the odds that the attack actually hits the intended target the odds that a normal level shinobi have of successfully completing the attack are around 1.3. However it is needless to say that Uzumaki-san is anything but normal. With his uncommonly high affinity for wind and his eyes this attack seems made for the boy." Haishi finished his speech with a nod as if to solidify the facts.

Tenten slowly leaned into Hinata and spoke quietly. "Do you have any idea what he just said?"

Hinata slowly turned her head from left to right, never taking her eyes off her father. "I have no idea."

"What he said" A new voice rang out behind them. "Was the skill and difficulty accompanied by the danger of Naruto Uzumaki's attack borders on ridiculous. So it is needless to say…"

"Impressive." A second more raspy voice finished.

All three turned on a dime to meet the piercing gaze of the sharingan, and the nasty looking sword Samehada.

"Itachi" Haishi said with disgust as he stepped in front of the girls, dropping into his jyuuken form.

"Well that's interesting…"

--

Bum bum bum…. What's going to happen with the new arrivals? Can Haishi and Tenten hold off the Infamous pair Itachi and Kisame while Hinata cant use her chakra? Meanwhile the battle with Sasuke continues as old rivals really start to heat things up. All this and more, next time.

As always I look forward to any comments you have and all constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms.

Peace…

Ghost…


	21. Kuro Doujutsu (The Black Bloodlines)

I do not own Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha perched cautiously on the cliffs, Sharingan ablaze waiting for whatever might come. His eyes narrowed as he sprang further up, the ground erupting beneath him once more. There was more time between the hits now, and they were getting less accurate. He chuckled as he looked back, his old nemesis hadn't moved from the position he'd initiated the technique. He was a tank, but had lost his movement. "You're not going to beat me standing still dobe!" he tossed a fireball Towards Naruto, who clawed at it, wind promptly ripping it to oblivion. "Even you don't have unlimited Chakra, how long can you keep that up?!" He tossed his hands together a few more times. "Incendiary Arrow" He held a senbon in his hand and it soon began to give off an immense heat. It was small, it was powerful, and it was Sasuke's best chance to get through Naruto's wind. He tossed it, and as expected Naruto swiped it away easily. Wind tearing it to shreds long before it came near Naruto.

Naruto sat and focused eyes cool and calculating. He knew Sasuke was testing what he could and couldn't do in this state. He also figured from that last attach Sasuke knew his eyes weren't just for offense. Without them he would have never been able to hit the needle his enemy threw.

"So you can't move!" Sasuke yelled as he landed at the top of the great waterfall. "What now? Maybe I go back after your little Hyuuga princess?"

"Who said I couldn't move?" Naruto's voice echoed behind Sasuke. His mind raced, only barely managing to turn and catch Naruto heavy fist slamming into his gut, knocking the wind out of him, and throwing him back over the falls.

"Damn Clones." Sasuke cursed as he twisted in the air. Two more jumped after him to engage him as he fell, Latching onto his arms. _A taijutsu bomb? _ he thought, a quick look told him Naruto was still standing at the base, clawed hands waiting. He knew if Naruto managed to bring him all the way back down into the valley he wouldn't be able to dodge his next windstorm. "I knew there was a reason I held you in such high regard." he said to himself. He spun violently in the air to throw off the two clones. Overpowering them with sheer force. "Dark angel wings." As he spoke the black wings grew from his back and stopped his descent. Bringing him to a halt in midair. He looked toward Naruto and laughed, "You won't be able to get me back down in that valley. I'm not an Idiot. I'll just wait you out." As he hovered there he realized Naruto's lack of anything, movement, speech, nothing. Realization hit him with just enough time to wrap his wings around his body in defense.

Naruto burst forth from the waterfall. He knew Sasuke would be able to stop his fall, and by avoiding the obvious trap he fell right into the dangerous one. Suspended on wings his ability to move quickly was greatly decreased, and under the cover of the waterfall he managed to get almost right next to him before launching his attack. A ball of energy spun wildly in his hand. Not the usual Rasengan, but a new form he'd created imbuing with the power of the claw windstorm. Instead of spinning in a sphere, the vortex power of the wind condensed the attack into a cone, making the point of impact smaller, and exponentially more powerful. "Rasengan, Tempest Spike!" he call out as he crashed the technique into Sasuke's makeshift defense.

The Uchiha crashed down into the valley below, his left wing all but obliterated, but his body nearly unscratched. His eyes glowed a deep red as he forced his body to stand.

Naruto landed with a surprisingly light touch only a dozen yards away... he had been sure that an attack of that magnitude would have given him an edge, his senses now told him that his attack had been but a bee sting, just enough to anger the Lion. It was not a feeling with which he was comfortable.

Sasuke's teeth gritted as he once more drew his katana, and Naruto's eyes widened as a black flame raced its way up the blade.

"Amaterasu"

Haishi Hyuuga's mind raced as he eyed down his opponents... he was no match for the two of them, he didn't even know if he was a match for Itachi.

His mind settled quickly as he met the eyes of the village traitor, he had to stop them here. He knew the girls would be overthrown quickly, and for all he knew Naruto would not have the power to defeat this man's younger brother. His stance lowered, his eyes hardened, and he drew upon his resolve.

Kisame watched the Hyuuga head eye down his partner, it angered him... everyone always watched Itachi. In a flash he crossed the battlefield, Samehada already crashing toward Haishi from above. "Block this with your Kaiten." he yelled. "I dare you."

Haishi prepped himself to sidestep the giant weapon, but the attack never came. A high pitched noise shattered the air of the battlefield like glass. The strength of the great sword backfired as if it had ricocheted off an impenetrable wall. The force of it tore Samehada from Kisame's grip, sending the weapon spinning off into the trees. Haishi stood wide eyed at the fiber thin red wall that stood in front of him. He remembered it, he'd seen it not three days ago. He turned to Tenten, who looked poised, but just as surprised as he was. Kisame Vanished into the trees after his weapon.

"Blood Mist Wall..."

Haishi knew the voice that called out the Jutsu behind him. He'd heard it his whole life. "Hinata..." He turned, a look of shock on his face.

Hinata smiled, the tip of her thumb bloody. She had regained her control of chakra.

Haishi looked back to Tenten, she too looked ready to fight. It struck him quite hard that he was not looking at his daughter and her friend, but at Kunoichi. If they were going to get out of here alive, he would have to treat them as such. "I need 73 seconds undisturbed..." he looked at Tenten. "Protect me from Kisame." he looked at Hinata "You take Itachi." the words were falling from his own mouth, but he could not believe he was saying them. "Close your eyes, use the Byakuugan to fight his chakra, not his body."

The two girls nodded as Haishi dropped into a sitting position. His mind calmed as he pushed out the rest of the world. In the midst of battle, he found himself at peace in his own mind. It was something that had taken him years of training to accomplish. No fear, no joy, he needed the exact place between rage and serenity, or everyone there was dead.

Hinata waisted no time moving to Tenten's side in front of her father. 73 seconds against monsters could just as easily feel like years. She drew the blood mist wall in front of her again and with a Chakra Scalpel cut through the very atoms of the wall, separating it into one hundred pieces in only a moment. Carefully she pushed a wall of chakra out of her entire body. _Only 70 seconds. _She reminded herself. That was how long she would have to pump out chakra at this rate. She had been building up Chakra for days without the chance to use it. She was overflowing, and she still didn't know if she could do this. She wished silently that she had some of Naruto's unending supply. As the power flowed out of her body the individual pieces of the wall stuck to the chakra like magnets. They formed themselves around her like armor, an armor she could move and control at will. She closed her eyes, only able to see the Chakra flow of the people around her. Itachi was easy to spot, his Chakra flow was the largest, bigger than even her fathers, she was surprised at how pure it felt. Just a look at Kisame's felt like she was swimming in the fish mans dark waters.

"Armor of the Red Queen." she finished. a heavy breath escaping as she fell into her Jyuuken form.

Tenten made no waist of the three seconds herself... she knew Hinata was pulling out all the stops, she would need to do the same. She pumped as much Chakra as she could into one explosive tag on her belt. It was a specialty tag she had designed herself, and the force of it at full charge could take out nearly three blocks. By her estimate, she would need all of its power. When she was confident in the charge of the tag she pulled a scroll from her belt and tossed it skyward. This was not her usual barrage of weaponry. Only ten heavy lances feel from the sky, there tips imbedding them in a circular pattern around Tenten. Ten Moissinite heavy lances. Naruto had spent a great deal of time constructing these for her in exchange for her weaponry lessons. They were balanced to perfection, but they were extraordinarily heavy none the less. As Kisame re-emerged from the tree line with his weapon Tenten picked up the first lance, pushed the tag on to the tail end, and with all her power launched the weapon into the sky. With a Coquettish smile toward Kisame she pulled the Chakra string that activated the Tag. The force of the explosion, even as far away as it was, nearly knocked them all off their feet. The blast fired the heavy lance into the sky at an unimaginable rate. Any other weapon would have been incinerated, she knew from experience the Lance would be undamaged. For the first time in her life she prayed for her aim, she had never thrown anything as far as this.

"That was a big bang for such a little girl..." Kisame gruffed as he took in what had happened in his absence. "You missed me." he propelled himself forward again, confident that he would be able to circumnavigate the red wall if it reappeared. Samehada was hungry, and he was certain to feed his partner. A great wind picked up as the great blade started its arch.

"You aren't the only one with a good weapon." Tenten called as her chakra strings lifted two of the lances to intercept. It was nowhere near as definite as the Blood mist Barrier, but the two lances caught the weapon far before it was a threat. Tenten pushed her power into the remaining seven. They struck out at Kisame like a barrage of scorpions stingers. She noticed the water swordsman blocked only the first with Samehada, then backed away, dodging the strikes with ease as the gap widened. Deciding to conserve energy she returned the lances to there resting place in a circle around her. She smiled as she fell back into ready stance. "Weapons Mistress Secret Technique: Diamond Lancer." _48 seconds. _She told herself, glancing at Haishi.

Hinata broke into a charge at Itachi, no matter what happened, she didn't want to give him time to complete any S-Class jutsu. She could see him forming attacks as she charged, felt a fireball crash off of her armor. She heard the ping of weaponry that offered her no threat. Suddenly Itachi's chakra signature was gone, even with her eyes she barely noticed him behind her before his foot crashed into her midsection. The armor absorbed all of the damage, but the force behind it still sent her flying into a nearby tree.

"That armor is annoying..." Itachi's voice was monotone, almost bored. "Shield spike."

Hinata saw the huge mass of power condense into Itachi's hand. She could barely move after his kick. There was no way she could avoid it. The wall itself could stop a shield spike... it had never been tested on her armor. _sink or swim. _She thought to herself.

The impact of the blast made Itachi's previous attack feel like a pin prick. She could feel the armor shaking, like it could crumble at any minute. Unlike Kisame, Itachi dug in. All of the energy transferred to Hinata as the attack propelled her deep into the woods.

_Even the shield spike failed... _Itachi thought absentmindedly. He turned toward Haishi sitting on the ground. His protector had been fired off deep into the woods, and he was now defenseless. _It is a shame to see the Hyuuga head go down so easily... _he walked forward toward the defenseless man. Pulling a kunai from his pocket. Suddenly the air around him vibrated, all his senses told him to get away.

The blast of the shield spike had propelled Hinata... but it did her no harm. Reacting quickly she latched a chained kunai to a tree as she flew past, grabbed on with all her might, and let the force of Itachi's technique whip her up high above the tree tops. She was flying, and she could see the whole battlefield. More over, her armor held firm. She angled herself towards Itachi without a second thought. He would surely believe she hadn't recovered so quickly, and he would never think to look up. As she dove from the sky she began to spin, felt the familiar air of the Kaiten forming around her. It felt different though, comfortable, like her favorite blanket, like Naruto's embrace. She would drop it on Itachi's head like a cannonball.

Itachi pushed himself back in retreat as far as he could as a great Kaiten erupted, crashing into the ground where he stood not a second ago... He wondered briefly if the clan head had awakened. He had fought many Hyuuga in his life, none other than Haishi had a Kaiten like this one. It was enormous, nearly twenty foot wide. It had been terribly precise, and vicious enough that it was capable of being used offensively.

Before the great tempest even slowed Hinata burst forth from within, her armor protecting her from the tearing walls of her own technique. Itachi sidestepped with all his might to avoid the Jyuuken Strike aimed at his heart. He managed to avoid the majority of the strike, but the outside edge of Hinata's chakra blast smashed into his left arm, rendering it useless.

He reeled as he pulled back away from the encounter with the dangerous Hyuuga technique. He had trained and strengthened his Chakra pathways since he was a young boy in fear of the ivory eyed clan. A normal Hyuuga Jyuuken strike would be completely useless against him. He knew had he not dodged it, that one would have stopped his heart cold. His Sharingan blazed mercilessly as realization hit him. He was in combat with the future head of the Hyuuga clan. She may be young, but she was her fathers daughter, he would fight her as he would fight her father.

Hinata's breath slowly fell from her lips. "12 seconds."

Tsunade sipped her tea gingerly. Another long day ahead and nothing she could do about it. She'd stayed up late the night before finishing the majority of the weeks desk work. This afternoon she would need to go make an appearance at the academy and evaluate the students.

She felt the danger in her mind before she heard the crash in the courtyard just outside her window. In an instant the courtyard of the Hokage's Office went from peaceful to a dust storm. She and the ANBU were in the courtyard in seconds.

As the dust settled they all saw the Moissinite Spear embedded nearly 6 foot into the concrete. Tsunade's heart dropped as she ran up and pulled a message off the weapon. "SHIZUNE! FIND ME A NARA!" she called out. Her assistant needed no more instruction. The message was a red card with a black line down the middle. It stood for the highest level of distress Konoha had call for. "SOS S-class adversary present."

She knew it was Tenten who sent the message. Naruto didn't have the thought process to find a way to get a message to them. Shizune reappeared moments later with Shikamaru.

"Where did this thing come from Shikamaru?" she asked short tempered.

The lazy Jounin Ignored the short tempered Hokage, already running the gauntlet of numbers in his head. Pulling a map out of his belt. Writing equation after equation in the white spaces. "I need to know how much that thing weighs." he said without looking up.

Tsunade placed one hand on the weapon and ripped it free of the concrete like she'd just picked up a pencil. "A lot, probably a 140 pounds."

"I don't need a probably, Tsunade-sama." Shikamaru said angrily. The hokage generalized far too much when she was angry. "five pounds off could put this thing in a different nation."

Tsunade resisted the urge to bash in the lazy Nara's skull. This was why she kept the Nara's close by though. They were rational when she wasn't. Just then an ANBU arrived with a scale.

"165 pounds hokage-sama."

Shikamaru didn't even react as he plugged the numbers into his equations. Not thirty seconds later he drew a circle on the map. "It came from within that area." he said. "Im 90% sure."

Tsunade glanced quickly at the map, a quick look was all it took. "The Valley of the End."

Tenten's Lances danced around her, fending off Water sharks from all directions. She was being overpowered, Samehada's raw power had already managed to break one of her lances, something she thought impossible. Another now had a crack and would not withstand another hit. Kisame was a tank, he was fast, he was smart, and if this battle went on any longer she would run out of gas. The fishman blasted his way into the mix with his weapon once more, Tenten drew one of the lances away thrusting it at the Water ninja. Kisame retreated... narrowly missing getting skewered, but Tenten could tell he wasn't in any real danger.

Hinata stood firm in front of her father as she watched chakra concentrate into her opponents eyes. For the first time his aura seemed truly frightening.

"Mangekyo Sharingan." Itachi called as he flew through hand seals, "I wonder if your armor will protect you from this... Amaterasu."

The black flames of the Uchiha spilled out of his mouth in a firestorm of destruction. Hinata prepared a Kaiten, but could do nothing other than hope her shields held out.

An aura of death suddenly covered the battlefield, it felt as if the grim reaper himself had arrived and his presence sucked the life out of all that existed. Hinata waited for the black flames to hit her, but they never came. They were, and now they simply were not. The sharks that viciously attacked Tenten vanished as well.

"Zero." Hinata said as her Armor of the red Queen fell from her body. Her chakra no longer being able to support it. Her legs nearly giving under her own body weight.

Haishi Hyuuga's eyes opened slowly. The trademark Ivory eyes of the clan head were gone, and ebony iris's stood menacingly in their place.

"Look out across this cluttered realm... Byakuugan: Erase."

Its been quite some time since I've written. Long enough that I've forgotten the names and spellings of many of the techniques. Anyone who would kindly remind me It would be much appreciated. I hope those of you that enjoy the story enjoy this update. I don't write much anymore. Today just seemed like a good day for a story. Thanks to all of you who have supported my writing.


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